Mount Prospect marks D-Day with exclusive showing of French documentary
To mark the 72nd anniversary of D-Day on Monday, June 6, Mount Prospect will have a free showing of a French movie narrated by Tom Brokaw and produced by a resident of Mount Prospect's sister city, Sevres, France.
Arranging to show "D-Day: Normandy 1944," was a complicated venture for the Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission, which will sponsor the movie at the AMC Randhurst theaters.
The Sister Cities Commission got help the Mount Prospect Public Library, American Legion Posts 525 and VFW Post 1337, said Bob Usnik, chairman of the commission.
The 45-minute documentary on the largest Allied operation of World War II was produced, written and directed in 2014 to be shown around the world in appreciation for the role other nations played in liberating France from german occupation.
The film, produced by Pascal Vuong, a resident of Sèvres, was shown during a visit there last year by Mount Prospect residents. The visitors found it a moving experience and that led to the idea to bring the movie to Mount Prospect for D-Day.
The sister cities commission had to get permission to show the movie and then coordinate with the Kansas headquarters of the company that owns the AMC Randhurst 12 theaters, Usnik said.
The movie, shot for IMAX, is being shown in 3-D on a curved screen with AMC's ETX sound. It blends multiple cinematographic techniques, including animation, CGI and live-action images, as well as containing historical footage.
The theater holds 219 people, and while all the tickets are currently committed, a few may become available if some of the invited dignitaries can't make it, Usnik said. To get on the waiting list, go to www.mountprospectsistercities.com/ddaymovie.
The tickets include admission to a 6 p.m. reception in a vacant storefront at 114 Randhurst Village Drive, with hors d'oeuvres provided by BlackFinn Ameripub at Randhurst. Sponsors are requesting a $10 donation to the Salvation Army for the reception. The Sister Cities Commission is paying all costs related to showing the movie with funds it has raised, not tax money, Usnik said.