The Prides of Lions

What does redemption really look and feel like…how does a soldier make a difference…and what does it mean to resist invasion and what will it cost? 

These are a few of the questions men and women of Kirkuk, Iraq—both Americans in uniform and the community they try to control—face every day while Iraq begins to go up in flames and descend into chaos in the years just after the US invasion.  

Every soldier has a story; so does every insurgent. 

The Prides of Lions is an intimate look into the fears, joys, challenges, and accomplishments of fighters on both sides of the line.  What bonds do soldiers make? And how different are those bonds from the ones rebels make with each other? Is war felt in the same way no matter what side you take? 

Lions form prides to survive. They hunt, eat, sleep, and exist within a social hierarchy that rewards ferocity and strength. Only here, in the context of man and war, does the hunt and feast carry a moral weight too heavy for some to fathom.