Veteran Verite: An Evening of Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran Readjustment Shorts

A Marine's Guide to Fishing
Nicholas Brennan, 2011, 15 mins
Returning to the dockyards of Maine after a year in the desert serving his country, a young veteran confronts a part of himself he left behind. The film stars the acting debut of Matthew Pennington, an amputee veteran who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cigarette Candy
Lauren Wolkstein, 2009, 13 mins
Cigarette Candy tells the story of Eddie Van Buren, a traumatized teenage Marine who is forced to play the role of 'the hero' at… Show more his homecoming party. In pursuing a rebellious, precocious sixteen-year-old girl, Candy, he sees an opportunity to numb his pain and connect to a fellow lost soul.
American Standard
David Henry Gerson, 2012, 13 min.
A troubled young soldier returns home from Afghanistan to his girlfriend, an undocumented immigrant. After killing for his country, and while suffering from PTSD, he is tormented by the idea that his lover might be using him as a means to gain citizenship. The film stars Sgt. Marco Reininger, who served in the US Army in Afghanistan before acting in the film. Sgt. Reininger is currently back again in Afghanistan.
Let There Be Light
John Huston, 1946, 56 mins (excerpted)
John Huston's World War II documentary Let There Be Light is so legendary for its censorship controversy (not released until 40 years after its making) that its sheer power as a film has been easy to miss. Produced by the U.S. Army in 1945, it pioneered unscripted interview techniques to take an unprecedented look into the psychological wounds of war. The final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S. government by John Huston. This documentary film follows 75 U.S. soldiers who have sustained debilitating emotional trauma and depression. A series of scenes chronicle their entry into a psychiatric hospital, their treatment and eventual recovery.
Q\&A with director David Henry Gerson and additional speakers TBA

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