We Are Not Done Yet is the creative journey of ten U.S. veterans who come together in hopes of battling their traumatic military pasts through the art of written word.
We Are Not Done Yet
Presented by HBO Documentary Films, 2018
“We Are Not Done Yet” is a creative journey of ten U.S. veterans of varied backgrounds who come together in hopes of battling their traumatic military pasts through the art of written word. Grappling with PTSD, the “warrior poets” share fears, vulnerabilities, and victories that, eventually culminate into a live performance of a collaborative poem under the direction of actor Jeffrey Wright. In the process of creating their poetry and rehearsing for the performance, these men and women build a new-found tribe in one another, allowing them to share the too often hidden truths about their intimacy with war, death, and trauma.
Directed by Sareen Hairabedian
Produced by Jeffrey Wright and David Holbrooke
Edited by Abhay Sofsky
Music Composition by Wytold Lebing
Co-produced by Patti Bonnet
Workshop facilitated by poet Seema Reza
In association with Community Building Art Works
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2.77 million U.S. service members have been deployed to support American war efforts since 2001. An estimated 14 to 20 percent of these veterans experience PTSD. 32.4 percent of female veterans have report having experienced military sexual trauma.
For these war-scarred veterans, the experience of writing, developing and acting in a collaborative poetry performance is a path to what they’ve failed to find elsewhere: a safe space to come together, a venue for expression and a desperately-needed medium for conveying the nuances of trauma.
Original Thinkers Film Festival, 2018
