What I Want You to Know: Film Screening & Conversation

What happens when the experience of war leaves questions that don’t have easy answers?

Join us for a special screening of What I Want You to Know, a gripping and intimate film that gives voice to the lived experiences of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as they share personal stories from their deployments.  Interspersed with actual images and video from both wars, their stories paint an intense and compelling picture of the post-911 wars and their cost. Filmmaker Catie Foertsch invites us into these stories, memories, struggles, and questions that can remain long after a veteran returns home.

Following the film, we will gather for a facilitated time of reflection and conversation. Together, we will explore what the film invites us to see and understand about moral injury—the deep wounds that can arise when our actions, experiences, or the actions of others conflict with our deepest values and sense of what is right.

This conversation is for veterans, civilians, caregivers, family members, and anyone seeking to better understand the moral and human costs of war. We will consider: 

What does it mean to carry experiences that are difficult to name? 

How do we listen to veterans without trying to fix or explain their stories? 

What responsibility do civilians and our society have to those who serve? 

And what might healing, accountability, and moral repair look like?

Come prepared to watch, listen, reflect, and enter into a conversation that honors the complexity of military service and the humanity of those who bear its burdens.

No particular experience or expertise is required.