Seen at NHFF: An American Solo

The New Hampshire Film Festival was thrilled to show An American Solo on Thursday afternoon, as a part of the series of New Hampshire program films. The documentary chronicles the storied life of New Hampshire resident Col. Norman Phillips.

First time filmmakers, Jay MacNamee and Bob Bear, directed the film and were in attendance along with Col. Norman Phillips, for a Q&A session that followed the screening.

The documentary recounts Col. Norman Phillips life as a young orphan in Ware, Massachusetts, to his stint as a fighter pilot during WWII, to commander of the first nuclear-armed fighter squadron for the United States, all they way up to his present day lifestyle as a writer.

Col. Phillips has lived an extraordinary life, and directors Jay MacNamee and Bob Bear did a superlative job bringing his story to life on the screen. When asked how Jay and Bob found out about Norm, They answered saying, “Our kids were all in the same grade with each other. We heard another one of Norm’s stories and we said we need to get this guy on film.”

The Q&A wrapped up with one final question for Norm, how did he enjoy being the subject of the film. The answer he gave beautifully expressed what kind of man Norm is, “Well, as you can tell I’ve got quite an adequate ego and that living the life I’ve lived could teach people a lot. That as you grow older you don’t want to live with regrets, and I’m happy to say that I haven’t.”

You can watch the official trailer for the film here and be sure to check out all of the great films and events taking place this weekend!

By Liam McNicholas