In July 1936, as war broke out in Spain between the newly elected democratic government and a fascist military wing led by General Francisco Franco (supported by Hitler and Mussolini), 80 American women rose to join the 2,700 American soldiers who volunteered to assist in the fight for democracy. Filmmaker Julia Newman embarked on an 11-year odyssey to locate 16 of these women, and interviewed each of them extensively for this detailed and involving film. As nurses and journalists, these women engaged in this battle because they saw parallels to German anti-Semitism and racial prejudice in the United States, and the stories of their heroism leave Ernest Hemingway's romantic notions of this war in the dust-they describe 24-hour medical shifts, bombing raids and miserable conditions. This meticulously researched documentary also reveals the personal battle these women fought against their own countrymen back home, who either ignored the Spanish Civil War entirely or found it beneath their notice.

2002 Seattle International Film Festival: Winner, Third Place

Director/Producer: Julia Newman
Consulting Producer: Marjorie Kalins
Associate Producer: Fredda Weiss, Mary Lou Rekker

As a senior producer in advertising for the past 25 years, Julia Newman has worked on both television commercials and promotional pieces for New York's Lincoln Center Theatre Company, Volvo, Procter & Gamble, Bell Atlantic and many others. As a journalist, she has written investigative and feature articles for U.S. magazines and newspapers, including The New York Daily News and The Miami Herald. Newman produced a theatrical short, THE VIOLIN LESSON. INTO THE FIRE is her first directing credit.