Iraq & Vietnam War Stories

   Tomorrow night (Sunday, Nov. 4th) the Northampton Film Festival is screening “No Unwounded Soldiers”.  It will be shown at 6:30 p.m. at Smith College’s Weinstein Auditorium in Wright Hall.  The Daily Hampshire Gazette wrote an article about both this film and “War Made Easy”, which was shown this afternoon.  The article conveys the challenges faced by returning veterans from World War II, Vietnam and Iraq.  The film shows that healing is possible for these vets, especially through artistic expression.  The director of the film festival, Jeffrey Dreisbach, is quoted as saying, “It’s not a political film at all.   It’s just important.”

I was particularly struck by one quote in the article.   The director of the film, Rebecca Abbott said, “As Vietnam veterans, they’re so used to people not wanting to hear their stories.”  This is a major reason why I wanted to include veterans’ stories in CALLED TO SERVE.  Invariably I felt the anguish of those sharing their stories with me – in reliving the experiences and in having kept so much hidden for so long.  So this comment substantiated my experience with these people whose stories need to be told to allow them to heal and find closure and to enable us to learn about them and their lives…

As always I would greatly appreciate reactions to the article as well, for those able to attend, the film.  There is a reception, as the article mentions preceding the film at the Neilson Library Reading Room from 5:15-6:00.  Here is the article as it appeared in the Gazette:

Two films about war’s causes and consequences will be shown the first weekend of the Northampton Independent Film Festival, which kicks off today.

Both films explore the issues and questions that veterans and citizens face during and after war.

‘No Unwounded Soldiers,’ a documentary by filmmaker and educator Rebecca Abbott, will be screened Sunday at Smith College’s Weinstein Auditorium in Wright Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Shot at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System hospital in West Haven, Conn., the film follows four Vietnam-era veterans and the twin sister of a deceased veteran as they attempt to heal through a drama therapy program offered at the hospital.

Led by registered drama therapist Mary Lou Lauricella once a week, the group created an original play, ‘The Promise Once Removed,’ which the veterans based on their own experiences or those of others they knew. In the performance, a veteran of Iraq comes home to his father, who is a Vietnam War veteran.

The personal stories of the Vietnam veterans, as well as World War II veterans, including Pearl Harbor survivor Edward Borucki of Southampton, and a veteran of Iraq, are woven throughout the film.

Abbott’s documentary shows that healing is possible for them, particularly through the means of artistic expression.

‘It’s not a political film at all,’ said Jeffrey Dreisbach, the director of the Northampton Independent Film Festival. ‘It’s just important.’

An official selection of the 2007 Vail Film Festival in April, ‘No Unwounded Soldiers’ met a receptive audience there, Abbott said. Four of the veterans profiled in the film traveled to Vail, Colo., for the screening and to speak to audiences, an experience they found moving, the filmmaker said.

As Vietnam War veterans, ‘they’re so used to people not wanting to hear their stories,’ said Abbott, a professor in the media production and media studies department at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.

Abbott said she wanted to make the film after realizing ‘there were so many untold stories at the VA and among veterans.’ She encountered frustration among many veterans who saw the conflict in Iraq as the Vietnam War all over again – they never thought the history of the Vietnam War would repeat itself, she says.

‘They thought that people would learn from it,’ Abbott said, ‘and know what not to do.’

Healing through speaking

The Amherst-based Veterans Education Project, which is sponsoring the film with the Smith College School for Social Work and the college’s theater and history departments, aims to educate youth on violence prevention through veterans’ first-hand storytelling accounts.

The project is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Although not considered therapy for the veterans, says VEP director Rob Wilson, telling their stories is therapeutic.

‘The act of sharing your story with people who are really interested in it, and ask you questions, and who validate your story – it’s incredibly helpful,’ said Wilson.

He said ‘No Unwounded Soldiers’ is poignant not only because it shows the value of drama therapy, but because it links veterans from three generations.

‘We have felt that there are just so many lessons from the Vietnam War era that have not been applied to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,’ Wilson said. With another generation of veterans coming home from Iraq, ‘we have a lot to learn about homecoming,’ he said.

The filmmaker, a group of veterans, and counselors will be on hand for discussion after the documentary. Before the film, from 5 to 6:15 p.m., a reception and light dinner will be held in the Neilson Library Reading Room at Smith College. A donation is requested.

The second film, ‘War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death,’ will be shown Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Academy of Music, 274 Main St.

Based on a book of the same name by media critic Norman Solomon, the documentary is narrated by actor and director Sean Penn. Produced by the Northampton nonprofit Media Education Foundation, ‘War Made Easy’ critically examines the strategies used by politicians to promote their agenda for war, from Vietnam to the present day conflict in Iraq. The film also asserts that Americans are not adequately served by the journalists charged with questioning government tactics. A panel after the film will feature two VEP veterans and MEF executive director Sut Jhally.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 at 5:40 pm and is filed under Vietnam and Iraq. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.