黑料吃瓜

The Athena Cinema will host a free public screening of 鈥淭he Veterans鈥� Project,鈥� at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11. The 黑料吃瓜 Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine event will follow the annual Athens Veterans Day Parade in uptown Athens. A Q&A with the filmmakers will follow the screening.

The 2018 award-winning documentary takes an in-depth look at the challenges veterans face while navigating the complexities of the American health care system. In 2018, it was named 鈥淏est of Competition鈥� for a faculty long-form documentary at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas and 鈥渂est feature documentary鈥� at the Angeles Doc Festival. It was also selected for the 2018 Columbus International Film and Animation Festival.

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鈥淭he Veterans鈥� Project鈥� was created through a collaboration between OHIO faculty members Dr. Todd Fredricks, an associate professor of family medicine in the Heritage College and Brian Plow, an associate professor and interim director of the School of Media Arts and Studies in the Scripps College of Communication.

Dr. Fredricks said he is excited that 鈥淭he Veterans鈥� Project鈥� will be integrated into the Heritage College鈥檚 academic curriculum next semester.

鈥淲e have a new curriculum that our executive dean, Dr. Kenneth Johnson, is very proud of,鈥� Dr. Fredricks said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 trying to change the way we deliver medical education and part of that process is to look at veteran鈥檚 health care issues for one week during the students鈥� second year. It will be formalized into the curriculum next semester and I couldn鈥檛 be happier.鈥�

Dr. Johnson explained why it was important for the Heritage College to host a local screening of the documentary on Veterans Day. 

鈥淎s a college that is committed to improving the quality of healthcare for all, we were moved by the testimonies of veterans in this documentary and wanted to help shed light on the challenges that many veterans are facing,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to be able share the film with the Athens community on Veterans Day. Not only does this screening honor our veterans, it also aids understanding of their challenges and unique health care needs.鈥�

Dr. Fredricks and Plow first met during a chance encounter in January 2014.

After hurting his knee, Plow sought medical care at OhioHealth Urgent Care in Athens and was treated by Dr. Fredricks. After finding out that Plow had a background in film, Dr. Fredricks told him that he had an idea for a documentary and invited him to meet later to discuss the details.

鈥淚t was a serendipitous meeting,鈥� Dr. Fredricks said.

Plow said once Dr. Fredricks pitched him on the film, he wanted to learn more. He said the first veteran interview they shot in October 2014 was a powerful, transformative moment for him.

鈥淚 went from yes I鈥檒l help to I鈥檓 all in,鈥� Plow explained. 鈥淚 really became engaged in the project because I saw there was a major divide in the public鈥檚 understanding of these experiences.鈥�

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Plow and Dr. Fredricks have since made their partnership official by establishing Media in Medicine, a collaborative project that brings together visual media, the arts and medicine to create and teach through storytelling.

Dr. Fredricks said making the 鈥淭he Veterans鈥� Project鈥� was an interesting process.

鈥淲e assembled it as we filmed it and didn鈥檛 script it out, which is unusual,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 knew in my mind how I wanted it to go, but it evolved over time as we cut it. It was a very organic project.鈥�

Plow said he and Dr. Fredricks wrapped up more than 40 interviews in November 2016 but took another 16 months to carefully edit the documentary.

鈥淲e were condensing about 80 hours of footage after shooting interviews in Texas, Florida, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Virginia, West Virginia and Atlanta,鈥� Plow said. 鈥淭he testimonies came from veterans, doctors and health care providers.鈥�

Actor Gary Sinise, who is famous for his role as Lt. Dan in the movie, 鈥淔orest Gump,鈥� serves as the moderator.

鈥淲e just asked him to do it and he agreed,鈥� Dr. Fredricks said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a skilled producer and an adequate director, but I鈥檓 not an awesome narrator because I don鈥檛 have the voice for it 鈥� everyone knows Gary.鈥�

Dr. Fredricks said 鈥淭he Veterans鈥� Project鈥� can be viewed for free on YouTube.

鈥淚t was never meant to be a profit making tool, but as a tool to inform people and to get them interested in starting dialogue about veterans鈥� health care,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen people have a chance to watch it, uniformly the feedback has been positive. It is serving the purpose of starting dialogue and allowing people to ask questions they didn鈥檛 know how to ask. They can tell veterans that they watched the film and ask them, 鈥業s this really what happened to you?鈥欌€�

Dr. Fredricks said he鈥檚 even heard positive feedback from spouses of veterans.

鈥淥ne of the most touching stories was from the wife of a medevac pilot who said she didn鈥檛 understand why her husband wanted to keep returning to Iraq,鈥� Dr. Fredricks said. 鈥淪he said that once she watched the documentary, she could then understand what he was motivated by. It helped them as a couple because she understood why he wanted to help wounded people. It was really affirming as a filmmaker to realize that you are having a positive impact on people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Dr. Fredricks invites everyone to use the documentary in a facilitated discussion format to enhance its effectiveness for change. He said he would love to see a network of veterans who are interested in teaching and have them connect with medical and nursing schools who want to host discussion forums on best practices for veterans鈥� health care.

鈥淚 think it works best when you have veterans available to discuss these important issues after watching the film,鈥� Dr. Fredricks said. 鈥淢y dream is to make 黑料吃瓜 a center of excellence for veterans鈥� health care. If a medical student wants to work for Veterans Affairs or has an interest in dealing with veterans in the population, I hope they really consider the Heritage College because the school focuses on this.鈥�

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Plow said he鈥檚 pleased with the way his team skillfully handled the veterans鈥� testimonies.

鈥淚 think the veterans are proud of the film and it was important to us that we didn鈥檛 portray any of them in a light that they find insulting or denigrating,鈥� Plow said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 difficult to do because what they share with us is very special and often private. It was quite a leap of faith and we鈥檙e very grateful to them.鈥�

Plow said he didn鈥檛 realize how transformative the documentary would be.

鈥淚 was surprised about the emotional impact the documentary had on me as a filmmaker,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got intimately familiar with some powerful testimonies and am surprised that even after watching the material hundreds of times, it still makes an emotional impact on me.鈥�

Plow added that he hopes Monday鈥檚 screening in Athens reaffirms the documentary鈥檚 value as an educational tool and a dialogue starter.

鈥淚 think for the Heritage College, it鈥檚 important as part of their plan to be inclusive,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or Scripps College, it鈥檚 a way to show that what we do has value in these interdisciplinary settings. Really strong bridges can be built between disciplines at this university and some really good things can happen.鈥�