Hell and Back Again, one of the first feature films to be shot entirely with a digital SLR, is coming to the UK later this year.

The film has won won the World Cinema Cinematography Award for Documentary Filmmaking and the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in Documentary titles at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Edited from more than 100 hours of films shot in six months, Hell and Back Again is told through the eyes of one Marine serving in Afghanistan and his distressing rehabilitation. "Following Sergeant Nathan Harris of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, during a major assault on a Taliban stronghold, and his painful return home after a severe injury, the two stories communicate both the extraordinary drama of war and the no less shocking experience of returning home, as a whole generation of Marines struggle to find an identity in a country that prefers to be indifferent."

The film is the result of intense labour, says Dennis. "To achieve a cinematic look when shooting in bright daylight, I shot at f2.8 at 1/60th or slower, which requires a drastic amount of reduction of light that hits the sensor," he reveals, adding that even filters did not solve the lighting problems. "Another
 issue
 is
 that
 all
 focus
 must
 be
 done
 manually
 after
 recording
 begins," he says, "The
 only
 way
 to
 address
 this
 was
 a
 lot
 of
 practice
 racking
 focus."

The photojournalist used Canon's EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR with a custom-built rig.

"I
 hope 
to 
shake people from their indifference to war, and to bridge the disconnect between the realities on the ground and the public consciousness at home," says Dennis. "Unless you have a personal connection, the war in Afghanistan is an abstraction," he says about his decision to embark on this project, referencing his friend João Silva's injuries after stepping on a landmine last October. "Visual
 imagery
 can
 be
 a
 powerful
 medium
 for
 truth," shared Danfung.

Hell and Back Again will be released in selected UK cinemas on 12 October.

Visit hellandbackagain.com.