This past Friday I attended the premiere of the disturbing and heart-wrenching documentary When I Came Home at the Tribeca Film Festival. This is a movie that everyone should see, but there is a chance that you, as well as the rest of the world, may never get to see. The movie still doesn’t have a distributor, and unless they believe that people will go to theatres to watch it, it may not get one.
IAVA‘s Paul Reikhoff gave a good synopsis of the movie last week at the Huffington Post:
When I Came Home explores the plight of homeless veterans in America, focusing on my friend Herold Noel, a 25-year-old Iraq War veteran from Brooklyn who faced homelessness upon his return from Iraq. Be sure to check out the powerful trailer on the website. Using Herold’s story as a fulcrum, NY-based filmmaker Dan Lohaus examines the epidemic of homeless U.S. military veterans who served when called but now must fight tooth-and-nail to receive the benefits promised to them by their government. HOPE For New Veterans is currently tracking over a dozen homeless Iraq Vets in New York City right now. It’s a tragedy and a travesty that there are homeless Iraq Veterans already — and not enough people are aware of the problem. The film also traces the creation and day-to-day work of IAVA as Herold shows up at the office one day looking for help. From Senator Hillary Clinton to legendary rapper Chuck D, a broad spectrum of American icons are touched by their meetings with this young veteran and his story. When I Came Home premiers Friday, April 28th, at 5 p.m. More screenings will follow throughout the week, and tickets are available here.
I don’t care what your position on the war is, every veteran deserves to be welcomed back into our nation as heroes. I hate the war that Herold went and fought in, but it was not his choice to start the war, and yet he fought. The very least that vets like Herold deserve when they return is treatment for their physical and mental scars and a hand readjusting to civilian life! It boggles my mind that our government would allow this to happen to our returning soldiers, though given the amount of homeless Vietnam Vets, I guess it shouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean that we can stand by idly and allow this outrage to continue.
There are a few ways that you can help.
- If you are in or around New York City this weekend, please consider going to one of the final two screenings at the Film Fesitval. They are both at AMC 34th Street (312 W. 34th Street)- the first is on Friday, May 5 @ 1:45 pm the second is on Saturday, May 6 @ 4:00 pm. The number of tickets sold for the movie will have a very large impact on whether they can get a distributor or not.
- Go to the official site for When I Came Home and watch the trailer. The more views that the trailer gets, the greater the chances of it getting picked up.
- Send an e-mail to the film’s director, Dan Lohaus, telling him that you’d love to be able to see the movie and asking him when you will be able to see it in theatres in your neck of the woods.
- TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!
- Visit IAVA‘s site, and support their work. I was already very familiar with IAVA, but I was absolutely floored at how Paul and Co. stepped into the breach and helped Herold in his time of need. If you need proof of how amazing an organization IAVA is, and why they need and deserve your support, this movie will show you.
I also would encourage you to go check out the other movie that IAVA had a hand in, also described by Paul:
The War Tapes is the first Iraq War documentary filmed entirely by the Soldiers themselves. This film will rock you. It has the best footage out of Iraq that I have ever seen. Filmmaker Deborah Scranton supplied hand-held video cameras to a New Hampshire National Guard unit deployed to Iraq just as the insurgency was emerging. The result is an unflinching depiction of this war, and the men and women sent to fight it. It’s better than fair and balanced because it’s honest and unfiltered. The War Tapes premiers Saturday, April 29th, at 3 p.m. It will also be showing throughout the week.
Crossposted at Blue Force and other places
