Written by: Kristine Pratt
ontherecord@abc4.com
Street Vets tells the story of homeless veterans in Utah. There are so many in the state, and many need help. But it took a lot to be able toe put their story together. The filmmaker and writer go
On the Record to talk about what it takes to tell these amazing stories.
All these men have amazing background before they got to their current position. "One man told the story of how many men he killed in Vietnam, and I wasn't prepared for that," says filmmaker Isaac Goeckeritz.
The documentary's writer James Findlay says that Goeckeritz came to him and says "he gave me hours of footage, and said we need a script, we need a story."
Many Vietnam veterans have a bad reputation. Goeckeritz says he spoke to some men that had college professors that wouldn't pass them because they were Vietnam veterans. But he says they're not bitter because of their situation, but because of their reputation. But they seems to want to tell the story of what they've been through.
Findlay says that attitudes are all changing. "Vets now more than ever are starting to go to a VA hospital," when that wasn't heard of ten years ago.
But once Findlay and Goeckeritz actually began sitting down to write the scripts, they let their subjects tell the stories, and it actually made it rather humorous. Some of these men seem to use humor as a coping mechanism. But between the humor, the pictures, and the stories themselves, it gives the documentary a very unscripted feel.
