‘You Don’t Have To Be A Veteran To Tell A Veteran’s Story;’ 'My Dead Friend Zoe’s' Director Talks About The Importance Of Proper PTSD Representation

Cinema Blend

When it comes to crafting movies about the lives of veterans of war, it can take a lot of effort to make sure that the story is told in a meaningful and accurate manner. "My Dead Friend Zoe," from feature debut director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, has received critical praise across the board for its emotional and authentic portrayal of PTSD. When asked what it takes to write a story that perfectly captures the essence of soldier life – both before and after – his tale was inspiring to me.  Hausmann-Stokes first formed the idea for "My Dead Friend Zoe" as a short film (titled "Merit x Zoe"). While the director himself is a veteran, when I asked what it took to create a movie like this, he said that you "don't need to be a veteran" to actually tell a story about war. However, there is one key thing you must do.

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00:00I think to tell stories about the military and veterans is no different than telling a story about anybody else.

00:06You just have to involve those people.

00:08I don't think that you have to be a veteran to tell a veteran story.

00:11I don't think you have to have served in the military to tell a military story.

00:14But I do think you need to talk with those people and surround your film with those people.

00:19And so we got one veteran for free, me, as the writer-director of the film.

00:24And so the script itself kind of started off a bit as a manifesto or an autobiography.

00:29But then we had a lot of veterans in the cast.

00:33We had a 90% real cast.

00:35And Sonequa and Natalie were able to kind of osmosis from those folks.

00:39They also did a ton of research.

00:40And so, yeah, I think stories can be, as Sonequa says, the more specific, the more universal they are.

00:47So I'm glad that you enjoyed it and related to it.

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