Man of War Director William Kaufman on Ukraine, LaMonica Garrett, and Films That Don’t Lie

<p>Director William Kaufman brings Man of War to The Vanguard Wall — a grounded military action thriller set on the opening morning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, starring LaMonica Garrett and out now on digital via Well Go USA.</p><p>LaMonica Garrett (1883, The Lioness, The Terminal List) plays Connor, a burned-out ex-operator at the lowest point of his life when a girl he&#39;s spent years protecting calls from a Kharkiv orphanage — the morning the invasion begins. Kaufman co-wrote the film, shot it in Bulgaria with a crew he calls family, and cast real Ukrainian refugees in key roles, including a woman with an actual drone-strike scar on her face. Jason Patric reprises their collaboration from Shrapnel as Connor&#39;s ex-CIA handler. Andrew Howard (Limitless) plays Danny Sudhakov, a Ukrainian fixer and the film&#39;s moral center.</p><p>Kaufman’s thesis, stated publicly and repeated in this episode: “This is not a political movie. We’re not picking sides. We don’t have a political agenda. This is a movie about people caught in the middle of war. War is ugly. It’s a monster. It eats up everything.” The film carries that through with a dual-perspective script — Connor and Danny hold opposite views on the conflict by design — and with a level of gear authenticity (Lead Devil Belts, tech adviser Max Krausz) that veteran audiences will clock in the first five minutes. Kaufman is a U.S. Army Cavalry Scout veteran and Christian filmmaker who has never lived in Los Angeles.</p><p>This is Kaufman’s fourteenth feature. He’s the director behind Sinners and Saints, The Hit List, Shrapnel, The Channel, and Osiris — twenty years of work built outside Hollywood, with crews rooted in New Orleans and Sofia, Bulgaria. The press track record speaks: “Kaufman creates taut suspense and dynamic action” (Variety), “Absolutely riveting” (HFPA), “Kaufman’s movie stands out because he doesn’t miss a beat” (RogerEbert.com). Man of War is out now on digital. Watch it on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/man-of-war/umc.cmc.j9guu91a0zqhlj5w8osaf1u9</p><p>Follow director William Kaufman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamkaufman_director/</p><p><br></p><p>⚔️ Hoplite Nutrition — serious supplements for those that run towards: go.thevanguardwall.com/hoplite — code VANGUARD15</p><p>📰 Free Weekly Intel Brief: intel.thevanguardwall.com</p><p>🏪 Merch: go.thevanguardwall.com/merch · 📸 IG: @thevanguardwallpodcast · 🎥 YouTube: @TheVanguardWall</p>