CNN Films Acquires “Why We Dream” From Director Meredith Danluck
NEW YORK – (January 15, 2026) – CNN Films has acquired the documentary feature Why We Dream, which follows a group of centenarian WWII veterans as they make a pilgrimage to Normandy, France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Directed by Meredith Danluck and produced by Delta Air Lines’ Window Seat Studios, in partnership with Pulse Films, the film will premiere later this Spring as part of CNN Originals’ anticipated 2026 programming slate.
Through the vivid and intimate reflections of WWII veterans, Why We Dream explores the power of memory and the quiet persistence of trauma and hope. Blending together rare wartime footage, 16mm home movies, cinematic portraiture, and classic film excerpts, Danluck creates an emotionally driven examination of war’s lasting imprint accompanied by an immersive score from Christian Lundberg and Academy Award® winner Hans Zimmer.
“I am beyond excited to share this film, which feels both timeless and urgent. We couldn’t have found a better partner than CNN Films, where emotional storytelling and collective history form the backbone of their incredible roster,” said director Meredith Danluck.
“Why We Dream is a deeply moving reflection on sacrifice, memory, and the legacy of the Greatest Generation,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide. “Meredith Danluck has created an intimate and powerful film that aligns perfectly with CNN Films’ mission to tell stories that illuminate our shared history, particularly as America approaches its 250th anniversary.”
“This film is about responsibility – what it means to carry memories forward when the people who lived them are nearly gone,” said Drake Springer, producer and head of Delta’s Window Seat Studios. “At Delta, supporting veterans and their families is a core value, from being a longtime employer of those who have served to reconnecting them with the places that shaped their lives. After meeting so many WWII veterans onboard our historic Normandy Legacy Flight over the past four years, we felt a deep responsibility to carry their stories forward. Partnering with CNN Films helps ensure these stories are carried forward to audiences around the world and across generations.”
Why We Dream is directed and produced by Meredith Danluck. The film is produced by Drake Springer for Window Seat Studios, Delta Air Lines’ original content arm, and Casey Engelhardt and Matthew Shattuck for Pulse Films, a VICE Media company. Lundberg and Zimmer composed the score via Bleeding Fingers. United Talent Agency brokered the deal.
Why We Dream premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and was an official selection of the 2025 Deauville American Film Festival.
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About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN Presents, and the newly formed CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 110 awards and 445 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
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