La quinta edición del GI Film Festival San Diego, que se llevará a cabo del 24 al 29 de septiembre, no tiene un tema establecido fuera del propósito del festival: exhibir películas creadas por, para y sobre miembros del servicio militar y veteranos. Aún así, los largometrajes, documentales y cortometrajes seleccionados tienen un hilo conductor. 

“A lot of the films, and specifically ‘Homemade’ and ‘Take Me Home Huey,’ have to do with healing from war,” said Lisa Marcolongo, a member of the Advisory Committee for the GI Film Festival San Diego. “We’re still at war and our active duty and our veterans and their families are still healing from war.”

“Homemade” is a documentary film following a combat veteran and his family for six years as he struggles to reintegrate to civilian life. Its world premiere is at the Museum of Photographic Arts on Sept. 25. “Take Me Home Huey” opens the film fest on Sept. 24 with its portrayal of a San Diego-based artist’s project to restore a Huey helicopter from the Vietnam War and then reunite it with its former crew.

“‘Homemade’ is about Afghanistan. ‘Take Me Home Huey’ is about Vietnam. These are two different generations. These are two different conflicts and wars. They’re all healing and finding ways to do that, whether it’s through sculpture and art forms, whether it’s through physical activity and things like that,” Marcolongo explained. “It’s something that resonates with multiple generations and we need to be there to help and support them. San Diego has a great collaborative and coalition of service providers and community members that are here just to support them during that journey.”

Ella ve la división entre la vida civil y militar como una de las barreras que dificultan el regreso de los veteranos a sus comunidades. Marcolongo cree que el festival de cine es un lugar importante para que los veteranos se reúnan con personas en el área de San Diego dispuestas a apoyarlos, ya que las bases son en gran medida inaccesibles para los civiles.

“I understand that there are security protocols and safety is number one, but at the same time, that kind of cut us off from creating more links and connections between the military and the community. That’s just one more reason why the GI Film Festival is so important. It’s not just about watching those films that you’re going to see in that theater; you’re going to be able to meet active duty and veterans at the same time you’re viewing some of those stories and journeys that they wanted to highlight,” she said.

A Marcolongo le apasiona apoyar a los veteranos debido a la lucha de su esposo con el trastorno de estrés postraumático (PTSD, por sus siglas en inglés) cuando regresó del combate en 2007. Necesitaba la ayuda y el apoyo de los habitantes de San Diego a medida que la familia aprendía a manejar su condición.

“Our family is thriving because of those resources that reached out to us and helped us,” she said.

Of the films she viewed while making selections for this year’s festival, Marcolongo particularly resonated with “Homemade,” as it showed another family dealing with invisible wounds from war.

Para los cineastas, dar a los espectadores una perspectiva identificable en pantalla fue una elección intencional.

“We really wanted [the film] to feel like you were on the inside and that you were a part of Adam and Victoria and their family’s life,” said director Danielle Bernstein.

La película en sí se basa en la empatía, con los directores detrás de las cámaras describiendo a sus sujetos como amigos cercanos. Cada vez que visitaron a Adam Sorenson mientras navegaba por la vida después de la guerra, primero se preocuparon por asegurarse de que la familia saldría adelante mientras Sorenson luchaba contra la adicción y los problemas de salud, y segundo por la filmación. 

“We’re a couple and we were documenting a couple. I really became friends with Victoria throughout the film,” Bernstein said. She believes since her and co-director Jason Maris did the project together, they were able to connect in a different way than if Maris executed the filming alone. What resulted was an intimate portrayal of the struggles to readjust to civilian life after a traumatic brain injury.

El Cuerpo de Marines está actualmente en conversaciones con ellos para usar la película como una posible herramienta de entrenamiento. Bernstein cree que la cultura civil también puede aprender algo de los militares y necesita ayudar mejor a las personas a encontrar un propósito en sus vidas. 

“I’m a huge advocate for how do we make transition more streamlined and more positive and easier to integrate to civilian culture, and also how do civilians start to look at ourselves and how we participate in a culture that doesn’t give us daily feeling of purpose and meaning,” she said.

Según Maris, los médicos que asistieron a proyecciones privadas de la película también aprendieron a comprender mejor a sus pacientes. 

“Doctors who work with military said, ‘Wow, this is incredibly insightful because it is all the people that we’ve treated, but it’s what happened before they walk through our door.’ [They have] never even gotten to see that part of the story. [They have] just [seen them] after they’d come for treatment,” Maris explained.

Maris said, “It’s been very effective in igniting the kind of dialogue that we want to have around these issues.”

To continue that discussion, they will be a part of a panel, alongside stars Adam and Victoria, after the screening of “Homemade” at the festival. 

The local artist featured in the 2017 Emmy-award winning documentary “Take Me Home Huey” will also be speaking at the event. His mixed-media transformation of the Huey was the original premise of the film, but it became about helping Vietnam veterans who visited the 47-foot-long sculpture heal. 

Según el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos de EE. UU., se estima que aproximadamente 7,3 millones de estadounidenses que sirvieron durante la Guerra de Vietnam entre 1964 y 1975 están vivos hoy. Sin embargo, muchos veteranos de la era de la guerra de Vietnam no comparten sus historias o experiencias y se ven afectados por el PTSD.

“In this case, the art became a catalyst for conversation. It kickstarted conversation and allowed these veterans to open up and talk like they’ve never talked before,” Maloney said. 

Maloney decidió embarcarse en el proyecto después de convertir otro helicóptero en una escultura. Quería hacer lo mismo con un Huey para agradecer a los veteranos que nunca fueron bien recibidos en casa durante la guerra de Vietnam.

“The first thing that turned me onto thinking about this project was the fact that I learned that there was a 50th commemoration of the Vietnam War,” he said. “When I thought about the Vietnam War, I thought, wouldn’t it be ideal if I could get an old scrapped Huey helicopter and transform that to be a piece of art to thank those that never got a welcome home.”

Quería que el arte involucrara todos los sentidos, razón por la cual contactó originalmente a los cineastas para que un documental acompañara la transformación. El proyecto pronto se volvió viral, con senadores y otros legisladores elogiando el trabajo y un recorrido por el helicóptero transformado que viaja por los EE. UU. Actualmente reside en Palm Springs. 

“I’ve always said this is the proudest thing I’ve done — the whole project. It’s been incredible and it’s taken off organically. It’s grown by leaps and bounds. When I envisioned the project, I had no [idea] the reach that it would have,” Maloney said. 

Una línea de la película resultante se ha quedado con Marcolongo, organizador del GI Film Fest.

“It said, ‘As I walked through life, there’s a pebble in my shoe. What has helped me the most is helping a fellow veteran,’” she said. “I think that resonates with both of those films as they both wanted to help other veterans and themselves through this healing process.”

Las 34 películas del festival de cine de este año se exhibirán durante seis días, principalmente en el Museo de Artes Fotográficas y UltraStar Cenmas en Hazard Center. Las entradas y el programa completo están disponibles en gifilmfestivalsd.org.

—Kendra Sitton is a contributing editor and can be reached at [email protected].