A documentary portraying Tlingit veterans of the Vietnam War won the Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Film Festival in Missoula, Montana this past week.
This noteworthy documentary, titled "Hunting in Wartime," was chosen as the winner among the other 140 shown at the Big Sky Film Festival, according to Indian Country Today Media Network. In this film, directed by Samantha Farinella, 28 Tlingit veterans from Hoonah, Alaska open up about their time spent in Vietnam during the war. Their touching stories revealed how they survived, how they served their country with pride and how they handled living in a society that oppressed Native people.
"Their stories give an important human face to the combat soldier and show the lasting effects of war on individuals, families and communities," Melinda Booth from Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Kathy Kasic, a filmmaker and Eileen Rafferty, a photographer/media artist, remarked about this film.
Through this documentary, viewers are able to see the challenges and painful times these men endured during their experiences in Vietnam, including how taking the lives of other men impacted them. It also narrows in on the struggle to get back to normalcy once they were finally able to return home. These men dealt with unimaginable circumstances that drove them to change.