Day Tripper

The GI Film Festival

by Amy Strauss

Sat.-Mon., May 26-28, $12-$375, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 2776 S. Arlington Mill Drive, Arlington, Va., 800-928-6307, www.gifilmfestival.com

In 2003, comedian Jeffrey Ross (pictured) entertained U.S. troops on a USO tour of Iraq � along with fellow joke-makers Drew Carey, Blake Clark, Kathy Kinney, Rocky LaPorte, Larry Gelbart and Andres Fernandez. Throughout the five-day trip, Ross kept a hand-held camcorder running, chronicling meet-and-greets with overseas servicemen and women, aerial shots of the Iraqi landscapes, a visit to Saddam's "Birthday Palace" and even a stop at his reigning throne (on which Ross sat).

Filtering through hours and hours of footage, Ross put together an 80-minute documentary, Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie, which will be presented at America's first-ever film festival to exclusively honor soldiers. "Every single GI that I met thanked me for coming," says Ross. "But I should have been thanking them � because if anyone got a morale boost, it was me."

Patriot Act will join 22 other features and shorts shown during the Memorial Day Weekend festival. All films were selected to portray the image of the American Armed Forces with respect and dignity. "We realize the power and influence that film has," says Brandon Millett, founder and president of the film festival. "It's a powerful way to foster [the Armed Forces'] public image."

Highlights include Pat Boone's For My Country, a ballad-turned-doc in tribute to the National Guard; a screening of Forrest Gump to benefit the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, with an appearance by Gary Sinise (the unforgettable Lieutenant Dan); and actor and U.S. Marine Corps vet R. Lee Ermey's "War Stories" panel discussion. Visit the GI Film Festival's Web site for a full list of film presentations, celebrity talks and patriotic festivities.