Blog Post

Hell and Back Again
Posted by Michelle Rabinowitz on September 30 2011

War doesn't always end when the warrior comes home. For many veterans, and their families, the battles at home can be just as trying as anything they faced in Iraq or Afghanistan. The award-winning documentary Hell and Back Again follows 25-year-old Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris from Helmand Province and the largest air assault since the Vietnam War to his home in North Carolina and the painful struggle to recover from his injuries - both physical and emotional.

Documentaries don't have breakout stars, but Harris' wife Ashley is the heart of a film filled with graphic battlefield footage and jarring scenes of a broken man struggling to get better. There have been films about these conflicts and films about the struggle to adjust to life back home, but we have not seen many caretakers on the big screen. With so many family members now dedicating their lives to caring for wounded veterans, it's especially moving to see the caretaker role played out in Hell and Back Again.

A few months ago, Hell and Back Again won both the World Cinema Jury Prize ad the World Cinema Cinematography Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival where IAVA Member Veterans were on hand for the film's festival premiere. Now, director Danfung Dennis is taking the film nationwide for more Americans to see. This October, IAVA Member Veterans in New York and Los Angeles can request free tickets for the film through The Rucksack:

• New York: Sign up for tickets to a screening October 10-20th.
• Los Angeles: Sign up for tickets to a screening October 17-20th.

Don't live in New York or LA? Click here to find a Hell and Back Again screening near you. And be sure to follow the film on Twitter at @hellnbackagain or spread the word to your friends on Facebook.

Michelle Rabinowitz is the Senior Strategic Partnerships Associate at IAVA headquarters in New York City. Before joining IAVA, she worked as a journalist for MTV specializing in veterans' issues.

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