HEROIC to premiere at Newport Beach Film Festival Oct. 17

Traci L. Slatton’s documentary on the creation of America’s National World War I Memorial has been selected for the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival and will debut Oct. 17 in Irvine. The film traces Sabin Howard’s nine-year effort to sculpt the memorial’s bronze relief and arrives ahead of Veterans Day and America’s 250th anniversary year.

Why it matters: - HEROIC spotlights how a major public memorial was made, and why veterans, artists and government review all shaped the final work. - The film also adds a new layer to the National World War I Memorial story by preserving the making of the sculpture, not just the finished bronze. - The timing gives the documentary added relevance ahead of Veterans Day and during America’s 250th anniversary year.

What happened: - HEROIC: Sabin Howard Sculpts the National WWI Memorial is an Official Selection of the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival. - The documentary will have its world premiere on Saturday, Oct. 17. - The film screens at Regal University Town Center in Irvine on Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. and again on Oct. 19 at noon. - Traci L. Slatton directed and wrote the documentary. - Sabin Howard and Slatton will take part in Q&As after both screenings.

The details: - The film follows sculptor Sabin Howard’s nine-year effort to create A Soldier’s Journey, the bronze relief at the center of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. - Howard’s sculpture includes 38 figures that depict a soldier leaving home, experiencing combat, and returning changed by war. - Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan served as models in Howard’s studio for figures representing Americans who fought a century earlier. - Slatton documented the project across three continents and used more than 4,000 hours of footage. - The footage includes work in New Zealand, the New Jersey sculpture studio and bronze production in England. - The documentary also covers pandemic disruption, federal design review and the pressure of completing a monumental work on deadline. - A Soldier’s Journey was unveiled on Sept. 13, 2024. - The 58.5-foot bronze relief stands in Pershing Park near the White House. - The 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival runs Oct. 15–22 and is in its 27th year. - Tickets and film information are available at heroicdocumentary.com. - HEROIC is a Superhuman Film Productions documentary. - Kathleen Glynn is the executive producer.

Between the lines: - Slatton had unusually close access as both filmmaker and manager of the sculpture project, which likely gave the documentary more intimate behind-the-scenes material than a standard production. - The film’s focus on veterans modeling for World War I figures connects past and present military service in a way that reinforces the memorial’s message. - The festival slot helps position HEROIC not only as an art documentary, but also as a film about national memory and civic responsibility.

What's next: - HEROIC will make its world premiere on Oct. 17. - Festival audiences will hear from Slatton and Howard after the Irvine screenings. - The Newport Beach Film Festival’s run through Oct. 22 will give the film an early public launch before the Veterans Day period.

The bottom line: - HEROIC turns the making of a memorial into a documentary about remembrance, service and the human cost of war.