Speaker
Description
‘Veterans in Communities’ tells the story of the group of the same name, based in Rossendale, Lancashire, UK. The film reveals how veterans are using art alongside outreach work to re-establish meaning and community in life after military service. This is one of three films produced from the Stories in Transition project which uses co-produced film and organisational case studies to reveal the everyday politics of military-to-civilian transition. By co-producing the film, the veterans took ownership of their stories despite the public narratives which claim various (unrecognised) truths about veterans’ experiences. The story they tell proclaims the vital, life-saving work of community building and integration. We hear deeply affecting testimonies about relationships which preserve life and foster hope, and see how creativity works to build the confidence needed for a fulfilled life. After the film has been screened, we invite the audience to discuss how co-produced film can provide an ethical and creative space in which to re-imagine political ideas like ‘transition’. We consider the impact of film both within and beyond the creative space it opens up to explore the everyday politics too often glossed over by the traditional preoccupations of international studies.
