The movie ‘Happy New Year’ depicts how war vets deal with combat PTSD

The movie ‘Happy New Year’ depicts how war vets deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Filmed at the Bronx Psychiatric Center, writer/director K. Lorell Manning's film follows two friends who served in Iraq who are reunited at a veterans' facility on New Year's Eve.

BY TANYANIKA SAMUELS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 5:18 PM

For many, the issue of post traumatic stress disorder among war veterans is an uncomfortable one, even taboo. But that hasn’t stopped writer/director K. Lorrel Manning from tackling its complexities in the movie, Happy New Year.

“A lot of men and women are suffering in silence,” said Manning. “It takes tragedies like what happened in Afghanistan for people to start talking about it.”

Indeed, the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians allegedly at the hands of a U.S. soldier is forcing a public dialogue. Manning is hoping his movie can keep the momentum going.

The Directors Guild of America in Manhattan is hosting a special benefit screening of Happy New Year Thursday. Proceeds will fund a PTSD facility in Israel.

The movie, filmed at the Bronx Psychiatric Center, follows two friends who served together in Iraq who are reunited at a veterans’ facility on New Year’s Eve.
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