D-Day 80 Documentary (June 2024)
Director Meredith Danluck and her crew interviews WWII veteran Papa Jake at Omaha Beach, Normandy, on the occasion of D-Day 80, June 2024 © Fab Fixers
The project: a special documentary about DDay 80 for Delta Air Lines
Historical documentaries are a favourite of ours. On the occasion of D-Day 8O, Delta Air Lines flew forty WW2 veterans from Atlanta to Normandy, for a special commemoration. For ten days in June 2024, American veterans aged between 97 and 103 years old were greeted like rockstars at every step of the way, by crowds of grateful locals. A filming crew was there to immortalise their return, through a series of site-specific interviews with D-Day survivors.
Delta Air Lines and Pulse trusted Fab Fixers with securing permits, transportation and a production team ahead of the shoot, navigating local bureaucracy to make sure the filming crew could access a number of locations in Normandy.
The vision: a Journey Through Time
The ten-day shoot was designed as a journey through history, featuring interviews with veterans at significant locations related to their stories: Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery, Sainte-Mère-Église, Mont Saint-Michel, a bunker off Utah Beach, and Carentan. These landmarks were pivotal to the Battle of Normandy and played a crucial role in the liberation of France and Western Europe in 1944-45.
The challenge: securing access to a number of locations
For this high-profile project, we collaborated with French Fixers Production to assemble an exceptional crew of professionals, ensuring the following:
Scouting and Permitting: we conducted a location scouting for a WWII bunker to film a radio scene, a typical village street to recreate a liberation scene, and strategic vantage points overlooking the D-Day beaches. We also secured permits for filming at Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery, Bayeux, Sainte-Mère-Église, and Official International Ceremony on 6 June.
2. Production Team: we enlisted a production manager to oversee scheduling and logistics, and provided three professional PAs/drivers to ensure seamless transportation of the crew and equipment from Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Normandy, and between various filming locations.
3.Drone Pilot: we hired an expert drone pilot to capture stunning aerial views of Omaha Beach from the sea, recreating the movement of Allied forces on June 6, 1944, using a Mavic 3 with a 24mm lense. The resulting epic drone footage combined cinematic quality with a profound sense of gravitas, concluding with a distant view of the Normandy American Cemetery.
4. Set Design: we collaborated with a set designer to authentically recreate a street in Bayeux as it appeared during the “Libération”, poetically evoking the warm welcome extended to American troops in the Summer 1944.
5. Transportation: we rented two vans for daily transport of the team and equipment along the Normandy coast. We also sourced a WWII jeep for an unforgettable interview with a veteran at Omaha Beach, capturing a poignant moment 80 years after the D-Day landing.
Interview on Omaha Beach, Wax Pastel on Paper, 2025. Drawing by illustrator Karolina Dema, commissioned by Fab Fixers to commemorate the interview
The outcome: a moving documentary on the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation
The resulting film was shown in Paris in February 2025 at the iconic Publicis Drug Store cinema. Why We Dream is a feature-length documentary on the return of WWII veterans to Normandy, to be shown on board Delta Air Lines commercial flights. A moving testimony to Delta’s commitment to promoting veterans and their legacy. And the score is by Hans Zimmer!
Why Choose Fab Fixers?
For our access: we know all the right people for locations, permits, crew, gear and transportation, in Normandy and beyond.
For our experience: DDay commemorations stretch along 100 km of Normandy coast - we know all the shortcuts. Plus we’ve been doing this since 2018.
For our knowledge on the subject: we specialise in covering memorial events, from the November 2018 World War One centennial commemorations in Belgium, to DDay ceremonies in 2023-25.
Get in touch
Contact us today to bring your project to life: virgile@fabfixers.com
Client: Delta Air Lines
Format: Documentary
Title: Why We Dream
Year: June 2024