The Annotated Field Guide of Ulysses S. Grant

For four years in the 1860’s, half of the United States was held hostage by an unrecognized white supremacist republic. Shot on 16mm in national military parks, swamps, forests and the suburban sprawl across the former battlefields, the film follows General Grant’s path liberating the southern United States. Part travelogue, part essay film, part landscape documentary, it moves from the Texas-Louisiana border to a prison island off the coast of New England. But instead of relying on actors, vintage photos, and the sounds of bullets and explosions, the battles are illustrated with the paper reenactments of hex & counter wargames and bubblegum cards from the hobbyist gamer subcultures that have sprung up around the Civil War. The sound and music are inspired by 1970’s crime films to celebrate the destruction of the Confederacy with the synth jams they deserve.

Created by Jim Finn

Soundtrack by Colleen Burke

Photography by Jim Finn

Sound Design by Alexander Panos and Jesse Stiles

Film developed at Negativland Film Labs

Post Production Supervisor: Dean DeMatteis

Produced by Cat Mazza