Department of English and Philosophy

Trauma, Narrative, and Collaboration: I Was There Film Workshop. From July 14-19, one representative from the Department of English and Philosophy worked alongside four wounded American and 10 Israeli Defense Force Soldiers in an I Was There film workshop in New York City. During the workshop, participants explored the collaborative nature of narrative in film making as a medium to promote psychological and emotional recovery for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Over the course of five days, the workshop broke the large group into four teams, and each of these teams worked with professional filmmakers to produce a short film that expressed its different individuals’ understanding and attempts to deal with residual trauma from battlefield injuries. The event is but one of several similar workshops recently held at Army installations by the Patton Veteran’s Project, an organization founded by Benjamin Patton, grandson of General George Patton. The films from the workshop are expected to be available for public screening within the next week at http://iwastherefilms.org/featured-films/.