World War II Veteran William Rogers is part of “Re-Story: Transforming Veteran Stories into Art,” which will premiere Nov. 13. Credit: Courtesy of Leah Spellman
In a four-month long collaboration between the Columbus College of Art & Design and the Veterans Art Initiative of the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System, a documentary project was created to highlight veterans’ experiences.
“Re-story: Transforming Veteran Stories into Art” will debut virtually Friday and is available until Sunday as part of the “National Veterans Film Festival Presents” series. The series will feature virtual film screenings and panel discussions leading up to the National Veterans Film Festival Sept. 10-12, 2021, according to the program’s website.
Heather Seymour, creative arts coordinator at the Columbus VA Central Ohio Healthcare System, said she creates programming based on what veterans say they want to do. She said her program creates art workshops and open art studios, and they have collaborations with the Wexner Center for the Arts.
Seymour said the film festival was postponed due to COVID-19, and all parties involved in its creation wanted to make sure they didn’t lose the momentum.
The first film is a three-part series and is in collaboration with CCAD that began in January, Seymour said, in which 21 veterans were partnered with students from animation, film and podcasting classes. Works from the VAI’s poetry workshops in the Franklin County Jail were turned into animations, and the combination of videos, podcasts and animations make the 45-minute film, according to the program’s website.
“Oftentimes, when we think veteran, we may have a prototype of a certain person, and the fact is, is that veterans are a really diverse population,” Seymour said. “We really tried to highlight some of the stories that maybe you haven’t heard of, and when you think ‘veteran,’ the first thing that comes to mind is probably not ‘artists.’ There are so many talented musicians, dancers, and painters and writers who have served.”
Seymour said she hopes the film inspires curiosity in the audience to ask questions about veterans’ experiences. She said she feels like a lot of times people may be otherwise scared to ask questions.
“There’s so many different jobs in the military — not everyone saw combat. All these different positions can be really fascinating. People travel the world and they learn all kinds of different skills that are remarkable to hear about at 18 years old or 21 years old. One piece of it is just learning people’s stories,” Seymour said. “The other piece is changing one’s perspective of what the prototype is, whether that be color of skin, sexual identity or gender identity.”
Hannah Rodas, a veteran featured in the film and an Ohio State alumna, served in the Air Force for about six years before retiring in 2016. She graduated in the spring of 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family sciences.
She said while she was at Ohio State, one of the things that she enjoyed was working for the Office of Military and Veterans Services as the lead peer sponsor.
Rodas said she didn’t always feel that her story was worth telling.
“I was reviewing the video again to refresh my memory on the things we talked about, and especially listening to these older vets and considering the big generational gap that we see between these different veteran groups and hearing their stories, I can’t help but feel imposter syndrome,” Rodas said. “I also find some sense of validation in sharing these experiences and seeing that art. It has been this way of connecting those generations and connecting those stories.”
She said she hopes viewers will value the conversations in the film and feel empowered to initiate dialogue with veterans.
“Just because someone is a veteran doesn’t mean that they don’t want to have a conversation, they don’t all have to have the exact same story to tell their life experiences post-military. I hope that people take away the stereotypes placed on people,” Rodas said.
“Re-story: Transforming Veteran Stories into Art” will premiere Friday at 5 p.m. on the National Veterans Film Festival’s website, where a registration link is provided.
