Tulsa premiere set for documentary made by local Veteran and his brother

TULSA, Okla. — You now have the chance to see the powerful and moving "Make Peace Or Die" documentary we've told you about here in Tulsa.

It was made by a local Veteran and his brother, and honors 17 Marines from his unit killed in Afghanistan.

After it's world premiere in California, tickets are on sale for the local premiere at Circle Cinema. It's being shown next week during the Circle's film festival and already won an award.

FOX23 talked to the brothers about being able to share such an important film with their community that supported them along the way.

Raw and real emotions are captured in the Make Peace Or Die" documentary as Owasso native and Marine Corps Veteran Anthony Marquez set out on a mission to honor the lives of the 17 fellow Marines from his unit killed in Afghanistan in 2011.

He previously shared the idea was sparked once he learned the mother of Lance Corporal Robert Greniger attempted suicide.

He then realized how much Gold Star families are suffering as well as Veterans like himself who made it back alive.

"I've always looked at it, 'How can I help the ones who are still here??'" Anthony said.

Using a chainsaw and a block of wood he carved the battlefield cross for Greniger's mom and went on to do the same for all 17 families, interviewing them and other Marines in their unit as he set out across the country to deliver them in person.

His brother, professional filmmaker Manny Marquez, documented every step of the physical and emotional journey.

"I think PTSD, mental health, these kind of things are talked a lot about when you're talking about Veterans circles, but you don't often talk about the Gold Star families," Manny said. "And I think there's a whole population of people, the wives, the husbands, the mothers and fathers, the children that have lost a service member in a war in a time of conflict, that they're kind of a forgotten subset in the Veteran conversation. And so with our movie, and I know as far as I'm aware, we're the first movie to really address Gold Star families."

"It's been over three years of work. And now to actually sit in the theater … and watch the finished product, I think a lot of people are going to be happy with what we did," Anthony said.

"Make Peace Or Die" will be shown in theater 1 at Circle Cinema, it's their largest theater. And it's already won their "Made in Oklahoma Best Documentary" at the film festival.

Local brewing company Dead Armadillo made a special beer for the premiere. The owner helped sponsor the brothers from the start of their filmmaking process.

"It has like 'Make Peace Or Die,' the name of the film, and then also now has the uniform, a photo of the uniform and all 17 of the guys names as well," Anthony explained.

When we talked to the brothers in April at Anthony's home, we shared the significance of the uniform.

While visiting all 17 Gold Star families, Anthony collected different pieces of the Marine Corps dress blue uniform from each family. It's now been given to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. And he hopes it'll be on display one day.

In fact, the brothers hope to hold a showing of their documentary there later this year. And have signed a deal for it to be seen nationally as well but those details are still under wraps.

For now, they're looking forward to sharing it locally. At the Circle, in what they're calling a full circle moment, recalling what they said when they first decided they were going to make the film.

"I said, 'Just imagine the night when we're at the Circle Cinema and it says, 'Make Peace Or Die' on the marquee and we're going into the packed theater and like everybody's there to see it.' Like all the hardships we had making it, raising money and being on the road and and just the difficulties that come with physical production are all worth it when you get to sit in that room, when the lights go out and then the story gets to play," Manny said.

A private showing, reception and Q&A is set for Thursday, July 11 but you can get tickets for Saturday, July 13 and the encore showing for Monday, July 15 when Veterans can get in for free.

To purchase tickets, click here .