Monday, January 2, 2012

A quick post on: A Marine’s Guide to Fishing



I read about this film in today's NYT, and then just copied off the information from the official website.  I'm very interested in ways that art-making can help everyone heal from war and understand what our veterans are going through and I have been collecting stories like this one.  If anyone out there knows of other veterans that have turned their experiences into art or acting or other forms of bravery and selfless, self-expression, please let me know.  Thanks, and please read the details below. The Times article was titled Acting Out War’s Inner Wounds.  

Operation: A Marine’s Guide to Fishing aims to kickstart a nation-wide awareness
campaign to reintegrate young veterans struggling to find hope and acceptance
back into society. This is accomplished through the personal speeches of actor and disabled Iraq & Afghanistan veteran Matthew Pennington and the screening of his award-winning short film “A Marine’s Guide to Fishing”.

We have been cleared to share our story in the Veterans Affairs system and have previously presented at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC and within the VA system in Maine, among many other venues across the country. 

The film, "A Marine's Guide to Fishing" received a top award from the 2011 GI Film Festival, the preeminent military-oriented film festival in the country. The New York Times wrote that Matthew Pennington’s performance was “reminiscent of Harold Russell’s double Academy Award-winning portrayal of a wounded veteran... in ‘Best Years of Our Lives’” and the Portland Phoenix called it an “understated…moving film.” 

Operation: A Marine’s Guide to Fishing is currently seeking operational partners for a
successful launch in early 2012.

http://www.operationamarinesguide.com/  (I cried just watching the trailer.)

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