Coronado's Village Theatres Hosts Filmmakers, Veterans for GI Film Festival

CORONADO, CA — Held Thursday at The Villages Theatres in Coronado, the second evening of the GI Film Festival San Diego featured military veterans presenting films focusing on healing after war and treatment of PTSD through the eyes of survivors. Five films were screened, with themes ranging from World War II to a film block entitled “Remembering Vietnam.”

A highlight of the evening was the west coast premiere of "Almost Sunrise," a documentary that follows two Iraq War veterans, Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, both tormented by depression for years after they returned home and pushed to the edge of suicide. The two embark on an extraordinary journey – a 2,700 mile walk across the country from Wisconsin to California.

In another of the films, “Return to Dak To,” director Christopher Upham, shares the personal story of five men who return to Vietnam to explore and explain their feelings 40 years after participating in one of the most bloodiest sieges in the war’s history. Upham was one of the few who survived the 61-day siege, and “telling stories is his way of coping with the war.”

Presented by Sullivan Solar Power, the GI Film Festival San Diego is one of the few military film festivals in the United States. The festival runs through Sunday. For more information and the event schedule, click here.

Photos by Sparks Photography, used with permission of GI Film Festival San Diego