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A new documentary features the annual Flag Day parade in Three Oaks, Mich.; the event is driven by American Legion Post 204.

The team behind a new documentary focused on the annual Flag Day parade in Three Oaks, Mich., hopes the film can help bring Americans of different political stances together.

And they hope American Legion posts can be a factor.

is a verité style documentary which follows a number of participants in Three Oaks’ annual Flag Day parade. Directors Andrew and Melissa Shea were introduced to the parade in 2013 while summering in the area.

“We started attending the parade every year,” Andrew Shea said, noting the relationships they developed with some of the regular parade participants who appear in the film. A few years ago, “it sort of popped into our heads, ‘Let’s make a documentary about the parade.’”

The Sheas noted the importance of American Legion Post 204 in organizing the town’s entire Flag Day celebration. Former post commander Mike Shannon introduces the parade during the film.

“The Legion really is the driving force behind not only the parade but the entire Flag Day weekend celebration,” Andrew Shea said. “We just worked closely with the Legion from that point on in developing the film.”

The Sheas and their crew “really tried to lean into the notion of celebrating our veterans,” Andrew Shea said. Among those veterans highlighted in “Flag Day” are Albert Brayboy, a Marine veteran, and his son, Albert Jr., a Navy veteran.

“For us, it’s Flag Day every day up here,” Albert Brayboy Jr. said in the film. “I mean, the love that the Legion members and Three Oaks has shown my family.”

Brayboy also commented on the importance of the flag to all Americans, something else the Sheas want the documentary to reflect.

“The flag isn’t Republican or Democratic, OK. The flag is for all of us,” Brayboy Jr. said.

Melissa Shea, noting that she and Andrew grew up in larger cities on the coasts, said, “What always struck us (about this parade) was just how unique it was, at least for Andrew and I. … We just weren’t exposed to something like this that is this intimate, where the people in the parade are your neighbors or your friends or all your classmates. Also, the ability for everyone to come together and work together and to be welcoming has been (surprising).”

“The theme of the film is unity,” Andrew Shea said. “We knew that it was going to be an election year, 2024, when we started doing this. … There were all those sorts of tensions within the community, but what really inspired us was this notion of the way people from all walks of life, all political persuasions, all join together to celebrate their community on this one weekend of the year. That was our vision of the film … that’s what we hope to celebrate in this story.”

A number of American Legion posts have already booked of the film, and the filmmakers hope others will join in.

“This is about offering the film so it can be seen and viewed and debated and enjoyed by as many people as possible,” Andrew Shea said, adding that they expect “Flag Day” to be relevant even after this summer’s semiquincentennial celebration.

"91Ӱ���ƽ�� is the driving force behind the Flag Day celebration in Three Oaks and is deeply rooted in the community. It is truly the heartbeat of the town. It is important to us to make the film and accompanying resources available to posts free of charge to show our gratitude to the Legion and so many veterans for their encouragement, participation and service to their communities nationwide,” the Sheas said.

American Legion posts which want to host a free screening, or arrange a free screening with their local theater, can sign up at . Screening hosts will receive a discussion guide, promotional materials, a free “Flag Day” poster, and screening support from the documentary’s PR team.