Melissa Stockwell.
‘WARRIOR CHAMPIONS’
7 p.m., Lakewood 8, North Little Rock. $100.
Little Rock’s hardest working filmmakers, Brent and Craig Renaud, continue to pull off an impressive slight of hand rarely seen in the world of documentary. They make films in the cinema verite mode (naturalistic, raw and without narration) with obvious agendas. Their 2005 HBO film “Dope Sick Love” was as gritty a portrayal of drug addiction that’s been put to screen. Naturally, it’s since been used in drug rehab centers across the country. Likewise, “Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later,” made in 2007 also for HBO, provided a remarkably incisive look at the legacy of integration, not a small amount of which focuses on how far we have to go.
Now, they’re promoting “Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing,” a nakedly inspirational film that’s just as honest as the Renauds’ past work. It follows four Iraq War veterans, who, after losing limbs or suffering paralysis, strive to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.