The story of Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret hired to overthrow Venezuela’s president, descends into a complex debacle where every party is at fault and the truth is subjective. Following the mission’s failure, he becomes a target of his own government. Goudreau exemplifies a specific type of military operative—driven and stubbornly persistent—a combination that not only doomed the operation but also defines his ongoing struggle to avoid becoming its primary victim and scapegoat (and thank god for doorbell cams). Every story appears to need a fall guy, a victim, and an aggressor and post world premiere at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival he and the filmmaker team were still fighting back. It should not be lost on anyone that the ongoing instability in Venezuela and what is fermenting in the same choppy waters lends a compelling and urgent timeliness to the narratives presented in the documentary Men of War.
Longtime supporter of American independent film and docu cinema, Jen Gatien makes her first foray in directing re-teaming with Billy Corben. I got to discuss her creative shorthand, how she developed the trust factor with her subject, and we briefly touched upon her latest docu Black Diamonds which will likely drop in 2026. NEON recently released Men of War for the docu awards races season.
