Fort Campbell "I Was There" Film Project Ends Silence of PTSD

In 2010 I took my first digital media class at Valencia College. I had been doing videos for 4 years but knew there were a lot of things I had to learn. Two years later and 5 certifications on my wall, over 200 videos and student loans, it was all worth it.

Doing a class like this for the veterans of the digital age is a fabulous idea. I wasn't there. All I can do is tell their stories. These veterans were "there" and these are their stories.

Fort Campbell Workshop uses Filmmaking as healing process for Veterans
Clarksville Online
Written by David E. Gillespie
Blanchfield Army Community Hospital
April 6, 2015

For many of the 25 participants at Fort Campbell, the results were quite evident as the task of filmmaking required social interaction and gave some a voice that had been silent.

I Was There film workshop mentor Sean Mannion, left, advises filmmaker Spc. James Bomar II, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during the final edits of a collaborative film project.
(David E. Gillespie)

Fort Campbell, KY – Lacking only the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s red carpet, Veteran filmmakers were stars in their own rights as a four-day “I Was There” Film Workshop culminated in a packed-house screening event at Cole Park Commons Thursday.

With a unique approach to treating the psychological damages of war, the free workshop encouraged Soldiers to share their experiences through mentored filmmaking classes at Fort Campbell’s Warrior Transition Battalion.

In half-day sessions, participants began March 23rd, with an introduction to film theory and practical techniques, and collaborated all week from concept to shooting and editing, all while grouped with fellow veterans.

Founded by Ben Patton, grandson of General George S. Patton, the workshops are aimed at helping veterans connect with each other, interpret traumatic experiences and substantially reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS).
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Iraq veteran transitioned to Hollywood life

Local veteran transitions to Hollywood life
News Telegram
By Lynne Klaft, CORRESPONDENT
December 1, 2013

LANCASTER — Helen Curtis' home on Mill Street is a touchstone for Ryan Curtis.

He lived next door to his grandmother for a few years, went there for family gatherings and dinners, and came back from Iraq to a welcome-home celebration of friends and family at his Nana Curtis' house.

He knows what coming home means to a veteran.

The 2001 graduate of Clinton High School started college and then enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves in August 2001. The 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center happened a few weeks later, and circumstances interrupted Mr. Curtis' plan to study media communications. Instead, he became an engineer in the US Army and was part of the Iraqi invasion from February 2003 to April 2004.

His grandmother was worried about Ryan and his father, Ted, who was also serving in the Army Reserves in Iraq, throughout that entire period.

"Ted decided to transfer to where Ryan was so that they could be together overseas. I was worried the whole time and didn't know what the war would bring. When they came back together, it was more than I could believe. They were safe," said Mrs. Curtis, who couldn't wait for them to arrive. She got a family member to drive her to New York to see them come off of the plane with her own eyes.

The family put up a big "Welcome Home, Ryan!" sign up in front of the Mill Street home for the celebration.

"He was always a sweet fellow, joking and performing for us at our dinners, he always had something to say or do to make me laugh," said Mrs. Curtis, as she looked through her photo album memories of Ryan growing up.

He moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and worked hard on small jobs, lived on unemployment in between, and worked his way up to directing small commercials and music videos. He joined a group, Veterans in Film and Television, in its infancy. The organization now has 1,500 members in Los Angeles and New York. read more here