Owens Veterans Services Unveils Free War Film Series - Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather Sports

FINDLAY, Ohio – Four nationally-known films depicting the raw emotional, mental and physical struggles that combat veterans endure will make their return to the "big screen" at Owens Community College as the Office of Veterans Services unveils the inaugural War Film Series on the Findlay-area and Toledo-area campuses for the 2012-13 academic year.

 Each film will be shown in the College's Education Center Room 111 on the Findlay-area Campus and in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts' Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus. The Owens Toledo-area Campus is located on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township, while the Findlay-area Campus is located on Bright Road in Findlay. The War Film Series is free and open to the public.

 "Attendees will find each of these films emotionally riveting," said Vickie Adams, Owens Director of Veterans Services. "Film goers will also see the horrors and honor of war, the connections that soldiers have to one another and their untold stories. Furthermore, individuals will learn more about what was once an unknown for many soldiers in posttraumatic stress disorder."

 The film series will open with the HBO Emmy Award-nominated documentary, "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq", which details 10 American soldiers and their narrow brushes with death on the desert battlefield. The film's title, "Alive Day", is derived from a phrase used by the soldiers to indicate the day they cheated death during combat, according to the film.

In "Restrepo", the goal of the film was to make viewers feel as if they just experienced a 90-minute deployment in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley with the Second Platoon. At Outpost Restrepo, named in honor of fallen comrade Juan Restrepo, fierce fighting takes place with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. "Restrepo" received the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

 The series continues with "Lioness", a documentary that pays tribute to the female soldiers who engaged in combat in the Iraq War even though official U.S. policy dictated they were forbidden from doing so. Team Lioness was dispatched on missions with all male combat units and frequently became involved in deadly ground skirmishes, yet they received no public recognition for their bravery and sacrifice.

 HBO's PRISM Award-winning "Wartorn" concludes the series and explores combat stress and posttraumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout recorded American military history. The stories are told through soldiers' revealing letters and journals; photographs and combat footage; first-person interviews with veterans of WWII, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and interviews with family members of soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder.

The four films will be shown at the following dates, times and locations:

"Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq"

(56 Minutes)

Thursday, Oct. 11 at 12 p.m. in the Education Center Room 111 on the Findlay-area Campus

Thursday, Oct. 18 at 12 p.m. in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus

"Restrepo"

(93 Minutes)

Thursday, Jan. 10 at 12 p.m. in the Education Center Room 111 on the Findlay-area Campus

Thursday, Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus

"Lioness"

(83 Minutes)

Thursday, March 14 at 12 p.m. in the Education Center Room 111 on the Findlay-area Campus

Thursday, March 21 at 12 p.m. in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus

"Wartorn"

(75 Minutes)

Thursday, April 4 at 12 p.m. in the Education Center Room 111 on the Findlay-area Campus

Thursday, May 2 at 12 p.m. in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area Campus

Owens' Office of Veterans Services is dedicated to assisting veterans, active service persons, reservists and eligible dependents in their pursuit of a college education. Over 340 individuals representing the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard are involved in Owens' veterans services programs.

For more information about the free War Film Series, contact the Office of Veterans Services at (567) 661-8387 or 1-800-GO-OWENS, Ext. 8387