Film about Mercer Islander to premiere at Seattle International Film Festival

A film to be shown at the Seattle International Film Festival is a true story about a man who makes a promise to honor his fellow soldiers and keeps it by bringing awareness and resources to help families of military veterans who died defending their country.

The film, “The Long Ride Home,” is part of this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. It tells the story of Kevin Mincio, the founder and president of Team Jesse foundation who is now the Mercer Island High School MIHS boys varsity lacrosse coach. Brett Bowker, of the MIHS class of 2006, is a producer and production manager. Thomas Lee Wright, who is the director, writer and a producer of film, is a parent of an MIHS graduate.

In 2001, Mincio was an up-and-coming Goldman Sachs vice president with an office at 1 Liberty Plaza — next door to the World Trade Center. He was there when the first plane hit the tower. In an instant, his life was transformed. He put his promising career on hold to enlist in the Army and was assigned to America’s first Stryker Brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash.

He was later deployed to Iraq. There, Mincio’s Army buddy, Staff Sgt. Jesse Williams, was killed. Mincio made a vow to help care for Williams’ family, and later to do all he could for the families of fallen soldiers. He started the Team Jesse Foundation and launched fundraising efforts like “The Ride,” a challenging bicycle trip of 4,200 miles over 95 days aiming to arrive at Ground Zero on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

The film will be shown at 6 p.m. on May 28 at the SIFF Cinema Uptown, and 4 p.m., May 29, at the Harvard Exit.

For information and tickets, go to www.siff.net/index.aspx. 'The Long Ride Home' Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHEIJfHgi3w. More information here about the Team Jesse Foundation: http://teamjesse.org/ and on The Ride: http://teamjesse.org/ride/

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