Celebrating Women's History Month, AU will pay homage to women in uniform who have served our country with a special screening event. On March 19 at 7 p.m., students from Gemma Puglisi's Public Relations Portfolio class are hosting a screening of "Fort Bliss," directed by Claudia Myers, a professor of Film and Media Arts in the School of Communication.
The event is being sponsored by SOC’s Film and Media Arts Department as well as the School of International Service’s Exploring Identities series. Ana Maria Brillembourg, a senior in SOC and one of the students hosting the event, said that the screening was part of a larger campaign to promote the film.
“It has had an extremely emotional impact on everyone who’s seen it,” Brillembourg said. “I think that it’s a topic that isn’t spoken about enough."
The film, released in September 2014, tells the story of of female war veterans through the eyes of a single mother returning from her deployment in Afghanistan. The film has received wide acclaim, earning the Audience Award at the 2014 Champs-Elysées Franco-American Film Festival and Best Narrative Feature at the 2014 GI Film Festival.
Megan Clark, a senior in SOC and another one of the students hosting the event, said that the film, which is also available on Netflix, has a lot to teach AU students and works to bridge the military civilian divide. The film will be followed by a panel discussion of the issues military women face post-deployment.
“You could watch the movie on Netflix and it’s helpful, but this is going to be a pretty great panel with pretty influential people,” Clark said.
The panelists will be:
- Timothy Lawson - A junior in SOC, Lawson is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, founder of Lawson Entertainment and host of four weekly podcasts. Currently, he is studying broadcast journalism here at AU.
- Kayla M. Williams - An AU alum, Williams is a veteran of the United States Army, an Arabic linguist and author of two books. Currently, she resides near Washington, D.C. with her family.
- Theresa T. Buchanan - Buchanan is the former editor of Roll Call, an experienced lawyer and a military spouse. Currently, she serves as the Youth Initiatives director for the National Military Family Association.
- Major Gen. Donna Barbisch - Barbish is a veteran of the United States Army, a former nurse and a lecturer on issues such as disaster preparedness. She currently holds a number of positions, including D.C. state director for Selective Service and member of the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee for the Secretary of Defense.
The screening and discussion will be held in the Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater in the McKinley Building. Read The Eagle’s full review, published when the movie was first released, here.
