CASUALTIES IS THE STORY OF JAMES, A VIETNAM VETERAN SUFFERING FROM PTSD. HAUNTED BY THE TRAUMA OF THE PAST, HE STRUGGLES TO KNOW WHAT IS REAL IN THE PRESENT.

Director’s Statement: Casualties is based on my own experiences growing up with a father suffering from PTSD. I vividly recall extreme behaviors stemming from his experiences in Vietnam. I also very much remember joyful moments with him, and his loving, nurturing nature. Too often stories about PTSD are told with the focus on extreme behaviors rather than the otherwise normal lives sufferers often lead. Mental illness does not need to be a person’s defining trait, but we often treat it as such, mostly due to a lack of dialogue and awareness. In writing Casualties I sought to create a picture of PTSD that would help to humanize the subject, and create characters that were not defined by their condition.

By using this film to acknowledge the wounds, I hope to support a dialogue about mental illness while honestly portraying the vulnerable and injured.