From Shock to Awe

Thousands of PTSD victims live in Israel, which in recent years has been promoting an innovative treatment, namely psycho-active substances, known as psychedelic drugs. The film documents PTSD victims undergoing MDMA treatment at Beer Yaacov psychiatric hospital over several years. We return with them to the site of the trauma, to the life before and the long and complex road to leaving the bleeding wounds behind and returning to life.

On call 24/7 for the past six years, three senior citizens have made history by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. Filled with unexpected turns, their uplifting and emotional journey demonstrates the meaning of community at a time when America needs it most.

In this interview, psychiatrist Dr Stanislav Grof, MD and his wife Christina explain holotropic breathwork, and discuss its uses in psychotherapy. Like hypnosis and psychedelic therapy, holotropic breathwork is a method for invoking non-ordinary states of consciousness for therapeutic purposes. Viewers see patients undergoing holotropic breathwork in a group session, and the patients themselves then report their experiences.

“I want to be a tiger. I am an atheist from Iraq and I am seeking asylum. About my hallucinations… It’s difficult. Horrible monsters. I hope I can help those who need help.” An episode of the animation series Mental images by Antonia Ringbom. The aim of these animated documentary short films is to reduce the stigma toward mental health problems and psychological disorders.

Over the years, Raul Ries, a military veteran (US Marine Corps) has reached out to those who are serving or have served in our armed forces. He has spoken to countless men and women from various theaters of military conflict, after their return home. In 2006, 40 years after fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, Ries experienced flashbacks for the first time. Subsequently, he found three of the men closest to him, who fought alongside of him in the Marine Corps unit ALPHA 1/7, and have suffered the consequences. Together again, they are taking the hill and finding healing.

John Banvard and Jerry Nadeau are military veterans who served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively. John, 100, and Jerry, 72, sat down at the veterans home where they live to reflect on nearly 25 years together.

"The trauma of 9/11, the ideology of violent retribution, military service as a patriotic family tradition, the “unfairness” of today’s warfare – in their voice-overs, five young Afghanistan war veterans first establish familiar foundations. Joe, Torrie, Mike, James and Justin from Pittsburgh are slow to show us their faces. Physically unharmed but full of inner pain they have become the misunderstood upon their return. Their violent experiences speak a language that the people at home don’t understand.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one veteran dies by suicide in America every 80 minutes. While only 1% of Americans has served in the military, former service members account for 20% of all suicides in the U.S. Based in Canandaigua, NY and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Veterans Crisis Line receives more than 22,000 calls each month from veterans of all conflicts who are struggling or contemplating suicide. This timely documentary spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders. CRISIS HOTLINE captures extremely private moments, where the professionals, many of whom are themselves veterans or veterans’ spouses, can often interrupt the thoughts and plans of suicidal callers to steer them out of crisis.

The award-winning filmmaker Peter Lilienthal is dedicated to this extremely poignant documentary of U.S. military policy and the living conditions of former resistance fighters in Latin America.

The documentary addresses the issue of post-traumatic stress experienced by first responders who are called out to tragic incidents.