"A Long March" Documentary Screening

 

So I got to play a very small part in this event being hosted on the Auraria Campus. This was a documentary that talked about the Filipino-American experiences both during WWII and into the present since their fight for recognition continues even today. This film was screened on the campus as part of the Veteran's Week Celebrations for Veterans Day. This is a part of our history that is not widely talked about and even has a person that has an advanced degree in American history looking a DEI, I learned additional information.

Both the historian and anthropologist in me loved this documentary. It dug into the personal lives of people that would normally have been forgotten and can be used to help educate people on topics not normally covered in our society and media. I'm a person who watches the media closely since I'm also slowly growing my own position in it, and the topics in this films I have not really seen covered. 

I will admit that I found myself tearing up during parts of this film. It is heart wrenching to know that these people gave so much to our country and that we have do little to nothing for them. Most shaking of all to me was the women that took part as gorilla fighters for our side during a time when most American Women's involvement in war was super restricted by concepts of gender. Many of these veterans are dying without and recognition let alone receiving support. 

One of the females covered, Nurse Reyes, in the film recently died after long court battles where the VA was allowed to ignore all that she had done during the war. This is just one example that shows some of the larger issues that the VA has. As an SCO in education I know how hard it is for veterans, even those fully acknowledged by the VA, to get the support they need. I'm also the daughter of a veteran that works for the VA and I have heard the horror stories from both her and other VA workers of what abuses and mistakes the VA does to both veterans and the low level employees within the VA. The VA is one of the most corrupt parts of the government and it is films like this that is slowly bring to the light just how bad it is.

After the film there was a Q&A with the director, T.S. Botkin. In this she not only went into more detail about the topic of the documentary, but also went into the film process. This film was also created during the time of Covid and she talked about how that impacted the filming process. This film actually also has a connection to the campus since T.S. Botkin's husband was not only the film editor, but is also a professor at one of the schools on campus. As an alum from MSU I never even knew that they had the Cavea theater so I got to see an area of campus I had not seen before. This theater is located on the 4th floor of their main building and can be rented. This theater was perfect for the screening. 

Overall, this is an amazing documentary that should be incorporated into history classes that cover WWII. This is important information also for political science majors since it shows the failing of our governmental system and the politics it has used to hurt people. I also really do wish that more politicians see this film and take action before all those who served our country during this time die since we are losing more and more of them in the natural march to death that we all take.

For more on the film you can check out the website: https://www.lfffilm.com/ .

We even had some finger foods for people. I only got a picture after most of the people had already gone through. Any good event planners know to have more then enough food for the attendees.

Top picture from the advertisements that was created for the event. All other photos were taken by Julia Bilderback at the event.