Re-posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises--
"Thank you Eddie Ramirez of OneVet OneVoice & Founder of the San Francisco Veterans Film Festival for including Love Separated in Life..."Love Reunited in Honor," directed by Jackie Wright & Jack LiVolsi, in the sixth festival to be held at the San Francisco Library, December 2-3, 2017. "Veterans Day is Everyday" for those who have served to protect the United States of America. Thank you for the opportunity for veterans and their families to tell their stories." Jackie Wright, Wright Enterprises, www.wrightnow.biz.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 25, 2017
SFVFF Contact: Pamela Coddington Phone: (415) 299-0251
Email: pamela@coddingtonpr.com
SFPL Contact: Katherine Jardine Phone: (415) 544-4295
Email: Katherine.Jardine@sfpl.org
San Francisco Veterans Film Festival 2017 Showcases Real Stories of U.S. Military andVeteran Men and Women
WHAT: 6t h Annual San Francisco Veterans Film Festival Saturday,
WHEN: Dec. 2, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 3, 12 - 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, SF (Grove Street entrance) Admission is free
San Francisco, CA — OneVet OneVoice announces the lineup for their 6th annual San Francisco Veterans Film Festival(#SFVFF17), the Bay Area’s premier military and veteran film event and the non-profit’s yearly public education event,hosted by the San Francisco Public Library. The film festival shares the real stories of service men and women as well asveterans, unfiltered by Hollywood, while educating the community at large. The full line of screenings and panel discussionswill be available online at www.sfveteransfilmfestival.org.
The two-day festival includes 13 films made by veterans, veteran families, independent filmmakers and students. This year’sanimations, dramas and documentary short and feature length films include unique points of view on a range of situations.Stories this year range from the emotional support shared between the members of a group of Gold Star families and thechallenges facing caregivers to how the emotional damage dramatized by a veteran coping with the VA benefits repaymentissue, or from why we have a mental health crisis facing our Veterans to ways some veterans are healing from emotional, moral and physical injuries after deployment.
“Each year we showcase films that provide the public with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the men andwomen who serve our country, building empathy for our veterans,” comments Eddie Ramirez, founder of the San FranciscoVeterans Film Festival and the sponsoring organization OneVet OneVoice. “The program of films and speakers provides realstories of struggles as well as real solutions, helping veterans in attendance while educating the broader community, whichsupports healing by making a smoother transition back to home, family and work.”
The 2017 program is free of charge to the public and offers film screenings, panel discussions with both filmmakers andexperts from organizations that provide support to veterans, and special events that celebrate the filmmakers. Saturdayattendees are invited to the evening’s Filmmakers Reception. The 2017 programming is possible thanks to a generous grantfrom the California Arts Council and the support of the San Francisco Public Library.
Films in the 2017 San Francisco Veterans Film Festival include the following:
After Fire (1 hr 30 min) Brittany Huckabee
With intimate access to the lives of three Latina women veterans, this film is anobservational documentary that throws a spotlight on the human toll of military service - including military sexual trauma,combat injuries and bureaucratic dysfunction - telling a universal story about strength in the aftermath of trauma.
Battlefield: Home - Breaking the Silence (1 hr 8 min) Anita Sugimura Holsapple
A Vietnam era military child speaks withmulti-generational family members and exposes the unflinching aftermath of war, and the failing systems that continue thelegacy of trauma from generation to generation.
Brass Razoo (8 min 42 sec) Rupert Raineri
Brass Razoo is a dramatic character study based on the return of a fictional soldierand his adjustment to reality after his time in Afghanistan.
Dance of Death: The fatal fandango of war and healthcare (4 min ) Mark Pinto and Patricia Lee Stotter This film presents thecountry's failure to heal moral injury and support our warriors through their fiercest battle of all—saving their souls on thehome front. The film is part of a larger work-in-process, Paging Dr. Faustus.
Devil Dogs (23 min 30 sec) director Lindsay Holt
This dramatic short film profiles an American photojournalist as he struggleswith his assignment - and his emotions - when embedded with a team of U.S. Marines during fierce urban combat in thedeadliest battle of the Iraq War, the fight for Fallujah in 2004.
Gold Star (7 min 24 sec) James Giese, Josh Wheat
A documentary that looks into the Colorado Gold Star Parents Weekendand provides insights into what it means to become a Gold Star Parent, and the bond that is formed between them.
Honor Flight: Vietnam (29 min 53 sec) Ross Raventos
A documentary that follows the Honor Flight program in Kern County as it takes its first group of Vietnam Veterans toWashington, DC to see their memorial.
Love Separated In Life...Love Reunited in Honor (14 min 27 sec) Jackie Wright & Jack LiVolsi
Crossing history, time, social mores and seas, the documentary follows the Wright siblings as they honor Sp5 Wyley WrightJr. and 'the wife of his youth,' Ouida Fay McClendon Wright with a ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery, after exhuminghim from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida fifty years after his death. The ceremony ultimately leads theWrights to Vietnam, where they found the land in Vinh Long, Vietnam that had been named after their father.
Simple Solution (8 min 15 sec) Arturo Mireles
On October 24, 2016 the news broke that some veterans needed to pay backtheir enlistment bonuses. This film is a dramatization of one veteran as he is dealing with the news using alcohol and hisskills in a new environment and state of mind.
Ten Thousand Miles (21 min) Nathan Ellis
When the worst happens in combat, soldiers rely on their team for survival...butwhat does it take to survive the worst back home? This dramatic short explores one story.
Thank You For Your Service (1 hr 41 min) Tom Donahue
Thank You For Your Service tackles the mental health crisis in themilitary and addresses specific solutions to reducing stigmas both within the military and as a larger cultural and societalcontext. The documentary also tells the story of incredibly resilient Veterans whose struggles and triumphs are chronicled inthe film. With interviews from the leaders of our military and our government, as well as mental health professionals, non-profit leaders and Veterans and their families.
The Catcher (3 min 7 sec) Cassie Guidry
Animated short film about a soldier suffering with PTSD who seeks the aid of aDreamcatcher Weaver to save him from his nightmares.
The Weight of Honor (56 min) Stephanie Seldin Howard
For five years, a documentary filmmaker followed the story of thedevastating effects that caring for a severely wounded Veteran can have on caregivers, families and relationships. The filmwas made to challenge conventional notions of caregivers, and to ignite change.
San Francisco Veterans Film Festival and OneVet One Voice
San Francisco Veterans Film Festival (#SFVFF17) offers a rare opportunity for Veterans to find support while allowing thegeneral population to learn about the issues facing the 1% of the American population that serves in the United Statesactive duty military forces. These men and women are more often becoming part of San Francisco’ growing veterancommunity since California has the largest population of veterans in the United States (1.9 million men and women of allages). Today’s veterans are facing a mental health crisis that has resulted in more deaths by suicide than in active duty. It is estimated that 20 U.S. veterans commit suicide each day.
OneVet OneVoice is a non-profit based in San Francisco founded on the belief that healthcare, education, housing andemployees for veterans and military families should be inextricably linked together. The organization is known for the SanFrancisco Veterans Town Hall Collaborative. The goal of the San Francisco Veterans Film Festival is to support one of the keymissions of OneVet OneVoice: to educate the general public about the current issues facing our veterans, and provide aplace for veterans to learn more about current support available.
San Francisco Veterans Film Festival
San Francisco Veterans Film Festival (#SFVFF17) is a robust forum for Veterans and civilian filmmakers to express theircreativity and to share their stories, which in turn helps further healing and brings greater awareness to the public on thechallenges our nation’s veterans face. The annual festival spotlights both veteran and civilian filmmakers addressing issuesabout Veterans and military-related topics. For more information please visit www.sfveteransfilmfestival.org .
San Francisco Public Library’s Veterans Resource Center, located on the 5th floor of the Main Library, supports the veterancommunity with free computer access, a specialized veterans book collection, and information and assistance for veteransand their family. For more information please visit www.sfpl.org/veterans.