Film producer Mitchell Block will come to campus next Thursday for a screening and discussion of his 2010 documentary, "Poster Girl."
"Poster Girl" tells the story of a female Iraq War veteran who is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2011.
"'Poster Girl' is about confronting the cost of the post-9/11 decade and its two wars on the soldiers that may have survived the war physically, but not mentally," said Sam Hanson '11, who is a close friend of Block and is largely responsible for bringing the event to campus. "This is the story of a woman who went to war to defend her country and ended up defending herself from her country. In an election year, with America still at war, and with over 300,000 Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans having reported suffering from PTSD, this film is absolutely crucial to measuring the impact of war on our country, as well as making informed political decisions in the future."
"Mitchell Block's films are about capturing transitions in people's lives and then viewing them in the landscape of our national identity," Hanson added. "In films like 'Poster Girl,' and 'Liz: Her Fight,' large-scale issues like PTSD and homelessness are explored through personal stories. This is the power of Block's films—his ability to explore national issues at the individual level."
A career planning luncheon and subsequent film workshop will be held on Friday, April 13 at noon and 2 p.m., respectively. Interested students should contact Tricia Welsch, chair of the film studies department, to sign up for both events.
The screening and discussion are sponsored by the Film Studies Department in conjunction with the Women's Resource Center. The two events will take place on Thursday, April 12, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
-Compiled by Joe Sise.