Local Filmmaker Suzie Galler’s Must-Watch Documentary Series True North Premieres on WETA
Three extraordinary stories from the Mid-Atlantic region are coming to public television next month, as acclaimed local filmmaker Suzie Galler premieres her powerful new documentary series, True North: Honest Stories of Finding Home, on WETA. The first of these films highlights Valhalla Sailing Project, the Annapolis nonprofit for veteran sailors.
Filmed in and around Washington, DC, and Annapolis, with a stop in Puerto Rico, the three-part series tells unforgettable stories of people who lost their way—and found purpose, healing, and connection in remarkable ways. Emotional, inspiring, and deeply human, True North shines a spotlight on the resilience and spirit that define this region.
The first film, Sailing to Salvation, follows Afghanistan combat veteran Michael Wood as he battles the invisible wounds of war after returning home with severe PTSD. At the urging of friends, he returns to a pre-war passion: sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. What begins as personal therapy becomes a mission when Wood realizes the sport’s healing power for fellow veterans. He launches the Valhalla Sailing Project with fellow veteran Jay McGinnis, in Annapolis, to help veterans rebuild confidence, camaraderie, and hope on the water.
It would not be surprising for followers of Valhalla Sailing to learn that the documentary premiere party at Eastport Yacht Club on Sunday evening, April 19, is filled to capacity!
In Where Music Flows Like Water, audiences meet Sunny, an accomplished jazz vocalist who walks away from a life on the road to return home to Washington, DC and raise her children. What might have been a career detour becomes something far bigger: Sunny channels her passion into championing the city’s jazz community and helping transform the DC Jazz Festival into an internationally recognized cultural powerhouse rooted in the capital’s rich musical heritage.
The third film, Running With the Big Dogs, tells the remarkable story of Adri, a Baltimore-raised musician whose life takes an unexpected turn after her mother suffers a stroke in Puerto Rico. Following her mother’s death, Adri finds herself searching for purpose—until she begins rescuing the island’s abandoned dogs. From her own home she builds Amigos de Los Animales, a grassroots rescue that has saved thousands of animals and connected them with loving families. Adri says the truth is simple: the dogs saved her, too.
“Each of these stories is about people who discovered their true north when life forced them to change course,” said Galler. “They’re powerful reminders that purpose often emerges from the most difficult moments.”
With deeply personal storytelling and a strong connection to the region, True North is a documentary event viewers across the DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis communities will not want to miss.
The three-part series True North premieres on WETA next month.
