Welcome to The Battle of Monte Cassino: Support the Untold Story!
We are seeking your support to revive the legacy of this often overlooked World War II battle. This campaign is in partnership with a production company, which is in preparation for a new feature film to be released on the 70th anniversary of the battle/liberation of Cassino. We are actively raising awareness by uniting and supporting the global Monte Cassino community and aim to introduce the history of this battle, marked by heroism, tragedy and controversy, to a wider audience.
We need YOUR input and donations to achieve this epic undertaking and help us to support the community and region.
The History
Cassino – a small town in central Italy. But for 5 months in 1944, the focus of Europe’s largest land battle of World War II. Blocking the Allied advance north: the German Gustav Line, a defensive boundary with Monte Cassino at its centre.
During one of the worst winters in Italian history, men from over 35 nations toiled in the hills and valleys surrounding Monte Cassino, overlooked by the first Benedictine monastery on its peak. A battle predicted to take weeks ended up taking half a year and the lives of over 75,000 soldiers and countless civilians.
The most controversial casualty: the monastery itself, flattened by 1,400 tons of bombs, from 229 Allied planes, the largest bombardment on a single building in history. Whether or not this breached international law is debated, but what is certain is that the human losses of the battles for Monte Cassino became a footnote to the rest of the war, following the swift execution of the Normandy landings just a few months after the successful breakthrough at the Gustav Line. For a detailed account of the history and its key protagonists, please refer to our Gallery section.
The Awareness & Support Campaign
Through a combined series of initiatives, we are working to sustain the memory of what has become known as simply the “Battle of Monte Cassino”. We need your help to support a better understanding of a battle that was, for nearly all nationalities involved in the fighting, both the darkest hour and greatest test of World War II.
With your contribution, we aim to extend our work with the global community, further collect and translate historic material which we make freely available to the general public and host on a public platform, create special events to commemorate the battle, and assist individuals and organizations who have, with few resources, dedicated their time and countless effort to honor the courage and sacrifices of the many involved.
Beyond that, we also ask for your support for a current issue in the region and a part of its living legacy: the ongoing danger of injury or death due to left over and highly volatile ammunition which is an ever present threat to the communities and visitors in the region.
We have decided to get involved in education and remove unexploded ordinance (UXO) in the area through this campaign, and require your help to create material for schools and educators as well as sending specialists to remove potentially life threatening devices that remain in the area.
We therefore decided to open our doors and invite you to join us. Your donations will grant you exclusive access to our campaign, the creative team behind our film, and will also help support Monte Cassino associations and charities:
- The Global Online Community: our social media campaigns are sharing the Monte Cassino story and linking interest groups and individuals to one another.
- Historical Material: we are collecting exclusive images and articles – which are being made available in English, Polish and Italian for the first time as part of this campaign – via this site and our social media campaigns. Please refer to the Gallery section for more information.
- Exclusive Videos and Access: during the course of our campaign, we will premiere footage of veteran interviews and documentaries never before seen by the public as well as online guest Q&As and interviews with our creative team.
- Exciting Perks: we have teamed up with film producers, historians, Monte Cassino associations and charities to provide a range of ‘thank you perks’ to thank you for your support. See Side-Panel for more details. We will be adding new incentives throughout the campaign.
- Recommended Sites: through our research of the battle, we have put together a list of our favourite Monte Cassino sites in the global community. Please refer to our Gallery section to find out more about this project/these projects and the team behind the film itself.
- Contact Us: for more information on the campaign, film and our incentive packages, please email campaign@fourthculturefilms.com
Alternatively, please find us on:
WEBSITE - www.indiegogo.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MonteCassinoUK
IMDb - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1957969/
Behind the new Monte Cassino feature film is a team with a proven track record in this genre, headed by director John Irvin (Hamburger Hill and The Dogs of War) and with a script written by Collin Scott. The film is currently in the casting stages, and double Emmy-Award winning casting director Suzanne Smith (Band of Brothers and The Pacific), BAFTA-winning producer Davina Belling (Tea With Mussolini) and producer Steffen Wild (The City of Life and Death) complete the film’s experienced team of creatives.The profits of this fundraising initiative will be used in their entirety for our ongoing global awareness campaign and the support of the community. None of the money raised will be used in the production of the film.
The film benefits from this campaign via unprecedented and invaluable personal accounts and historical contributions which we have received in the past years from the community.
Please join the campaign and spread the word.
Thank you for your support.
