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Tree of Life Productions, formed in 2010,  specializes in topical documentaries.

SOLDIER ON: LIFE AFTER DEPLOYMENT had its broadcast premiere in March 2017 during Women’s History month. It has been aired over 4,000 on public television across the United States.

SOLDIER ON follows three women as they confront the challenges of readjusting to civilian life after their post-9/11 military service.  The women in SOLDIER ON  are forthright about their many problems, while simultaneously managing to find moments of humor amidst their struggles and gradually reconnecting with the inner strength and resilience that has always defined them. Forever changed by their military service, the women adapt to find a new place in the civilian world.

The film presents these women’s compelling and illuminating stories in the context of a civilian population that has little appreciation for the experiences and sacrifices of female veterans, who are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. veteran population. The complete integration of women into the armed services as well as their full access to veterans’ benefits and the veteran community is a challenging work in process for the United States. SOLDIER ON  is part of that conversation and effort.

 


SET FOR LIFE aired on 60 percent of the public television stations across the country, including six of the top 10 markets (New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, DC and Atlanta).  Its broadcast by American Public Television was funded in part by AARP Foundation, working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans, 50 and older. On the film circuit, Set for Life won “Best Feature Documentary” at the 2012 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, the Spring 2013 New Jersey Film Festival and the 2013 Northern California Film Festival. It was also an official selection of the 2013 Madrid International Film Festival.

Tree of Life Productions commercial clients include AARP Foundation, Rutgers University, the City Bar Justice Center (nonprofit arm of the New York City Bar Association) and the Newport Historical Society.

 


/ susan sipprelle


About Susan Sipprelle

Susan M. Sipprelle is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Tree of Life Productions. She produced and directed the award-winning films Set for Life (based on the multimedia project Over 50 and Out of Work) and Soldier On: Life After Deployment. Both documentaries are distributed by American Public Television and shown on public television stations nationwide. She graduated with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2008, with distinction from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 1991 and cum laude from Williams College in 1980. She is a member of New York Women in Film and Television, and she serves on the board of newportFILM. She and her husband have five children and five grandchildren.