The feature film tells the story of African-American sailors who served on the USS Mason, a World War II destroyer escort. They were the lone black crew to take a warship into combat. 

The film is based on director Mary Pat Kelly's 1995 book, "Proudly We Served." It stars Ossie Davis, in one of his last roles before he died last February, as soldier Lorenzo Dufau. 

Much of the film was shot aboard the USS the Sullivans, a destroyer similar to the USS Mason that is docked in the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park. One scene was filmed on the USS Little Rock, docked nearby. 

"The authenticity of the Sullivans was fantastic for us," Kelly said. 

So, it turned out, was the brisk Buffalo winter. "There was a storm that was so bad that, even though we were at shore, we were told to abandon ship. Then the next day [the ship] was covered in ice. So we got the feeling of the North Atlantic without ever having to leave Lake Erie," Kelly said. 

This is the first feature film for the veteran Hollywood screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. She has made "To Live for Ireland," about Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, who has a cameo in the film, and "Home Away From Home: The Yanks in Ireland," about the 300,000 soldiers stationed in Northern Ireland during the war. It was while doing research for that film that Kelly learned of the USS Mason. In one scene, Dufau relates that when the ship reached a port in Northern Ireland, the men were greeted with a respect unknown to them in the racially torn United States. 

Kelly wanted to tell that story. 

"In our culture, if you don't have a movie about you, you're not guaranteed a place in history. There has never been an African-American movie on World War II in the theaters," Kelly said. 

"My memories of World War II and my pride in what my father did are really based on the movies. There is a line I got from one of the veterans, who said, "I am a part of American history, and I want that acknowledged.' " 

The movie was also filmed in Elmira, Harlem, New York City and Derry, Northern Ireland. 

A special 7 p.m. screening Thursday is being held in the Market Arcade for extras who were in the film. A 9 p.m. showing will be for the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History convention being held in Buffalo. Kelly and Dufau are scheduled to be present at both screenings. 

The film opens its run Friday.