Some stories take decades to be told properly — and some take nine years just to be made. That’s the arc behind Heroic: Sabin Howard Sculpts the National WWI Memorial, a documentary that has now found a home with Freestyle Digital Media following its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on October 17.
Director Traci L. Slatton’s feature documentary debut tracks sculptor Sabin Howard’s nine-year effort to build A Soldier’s Journey, the 38-figure bronze centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. The film draws from more than 4,000 hours of footage shot across the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, capturing the creative ambition, federal design conflicts, pandemic setbacks, and personal costs that defined the project.
Central to the film’s emotional core are contemporary veterans who modeled for the soldiers of the First World War, bringing their own lived experiences into the studio. Slatton, who also served as project manager for the sculpture, documents the decisions, tensions, and relationships that shaped the memorial long before it was ever cast in bronze.
“A finished monument can make its creation look inevitable. Nothing about this one was,” said Slatton. “I wanted to preserve the human story behind the bronze—the ambition, the conflict and the veterans who brought their own experience into the work. Freestyle will bring that story to audiences beyond the memorial itself.”
Glen Reynolds, president of Circus Road Films, added: “HEROIC will resonate with audiences well beyond art and history enthusiasts because its central struggle is universal: staying committed to a vision when the outcome is uncertain. That personal journey opens up a larger story about how we honor those who served and ensure their sacrifices are not forgotten.”
Acquisition Announced Following Newport Beach Film Festival World Premiere; Digital Release Targeted for Early 2027
A Superhuman Film Productions documentary, Heroic is produced by Howard and executive produced by Kathleen Glynn, known for her work on Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Slatton’s previous credits include the award-winning shorts The Sculptor’s Wife: A Love Story in Documentation and One Soldier’s Journey.
Freestyle Digital Media, the digital distribution arm of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, negotiated the acquisition directly with the filmmakers and Reynolds. A digital release is slated for early 2027, with an exact date to be announced.
Freestyle Digital Media has positioned itself as one of the largest all-rights independent film distributors in the world, specializing in VOD and streaming distribution, film acquisition, and partnerships across major cable, satellite, digital, and streaming platforms. Recent releases include Up the Catalogue featuring Jonathan Bailey, Allswell in New York starring Emmy-winning Liza Colón-Zayas of FX’s The Bear, Diario, Mujer & Café starring Roselyn Sánchez in her directorial debut, and Charliebird, winner of the Founders Award at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. The library also includes Survive starring Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins, Dear Zoe starring Sadie Sink of Stranger Things, and Best Summer Ever, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Steenburgen, and Ted Danson.
Superhuman Film Productions develops documentary and narrative films exploring art, history, and the human experience. Its slate includes Heroic and Slatton’s award-winning shorts, with planned narrative features based on her novels The Botticelli Affair and The Love of My (Other) Life.
Circus Road Films, founded by Glen Reynolds in 2006, advises independent filmmakers on festival strategy and distribution, representing producers seeking U.S. distribution and supporting negotiation of distribution and international sales agreements.
Why it matters: The acquisition signals continued marketplace interest in documentaries that bridge art, history, and national memory — particularly those that foreground the human labor behind public monuments. As digital platforms expand their documentary offerings, films like Heroic can reach audiences far beyond museum galleries and festival circuits, keeping the stories of veterans and the artists who honor them in public conversation.
Media contacts:
Michelle Czernin von Chudenitz | EPEC Media
michelle@epecmedia.com | 310-600-0575
Eric Peterkofsky / Sarah Madden
eric@es.tv | sarah.madden@es.tv
Michelle Czernin von Chudenitz
EPEC Media Group, Inc.
+1 310-600-0575
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