PORT ANGELES — Rape and sexual assault within the military will be examined in the documentary, “The Invisible War,” on Friday.
A moderated discussion will immediately follow the 7 p.m. screening at Maier Performance Hall at Peninsula College, 1502 E Lauridsen Blvd.
Admission is free.
Cosponsors for this Magic of Cinema showing are the Veterans Conservation Corps/Vet Corps and Peninsula College Veterans Services.
The Vet Corps is a program within the state Department of Veterans Affairs that taps the knowledge, skills and abilities of veterans and their families by engaging them in AmeriCorps national service positions around the state.
While focusing on the stories of rape victims, “The Invisible War” also features interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress.
Among the numbers included in the film released June 22, 2012, according to The Seattle Times:
■ 20 percent of female veterans had been sexually assaulted while serving in the military.
■ In fiscal year 2010, 3,158 sexual assaults were reported in the military, but it is estimated that 80 percent of those attacked do not report; often because the attacker is a superior officer (and may well be the person to whom the attack would be reported).
■ Five percent or fewer of reported offenders were convicted.
“Director Kirby Dick and Producer Amy Ziering―hope the film will help lead a national dialogue about the crime of rape perpetrated on the very people who have pledged to protect our country,” Peninslula Collge said.
Dick is an Academy and Emmy Award nominated documentary director, and Ziering is an Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated documentary director and producer.
The films begins with a title card that says, “All statistics in this film are from U.S. Government Studies,” according to The Seattle Times.
The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the audience award for U.S. Documentary.
Two days after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta watched it, he directed military commanders to hand over all sexual assault investigations to a higher-ranking colonel, The Seattle Times said.
He announced that each branch of the armed forces would establish a Special Victims Unit.
The New York Times said, “This is not a movie that can be ignored.” Time magazine called it “haunting” and the Los Angeles Times praised it as “exceptional.”
The Washington Post called it “heartbreaking” and TV Guide said the film was “shattering.”
Time magazine and Stephen Holden of The New York Times named “The Invisible War” One of the Ten Best Films of the Year and the National Board of Review picked it as One of the Five Best Documentaries of the Year.
The film was an Academy Award Nominee for best documentary feature and was named best documentary of the year by both the Chicago Film Critics Association and the San Diego Film Critics’ Awards.
It won the Golden Space Needle award for best documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2012.
For more details, see www.pencol.edu or www.facebook.com/PeninsulaCollege.
