NEW YORK – On July 7, Minos Papas screened his short film Tango on the Balcony for the cast, crew, and funders at Cinema Village in New York City. The extraordinary film tackles the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with an honesty and power rarely achieved in Hollywood depictions of war and its aftermath. Though only 19 minutes in length, Tango on the Balcony stays with you long after the final credits roll, a testament to the amount of research and care that went into the creation of this short narrative. In the interest of full disclosure, I had attended a reading of the script a little more than a year ago and was impressed even then with the dedication of the filmmakers, cast, and crew to telling this story and reaching out to veterans for their input and participation in the development and the eventual production itself. Seeing the story realized on the screen was truly an experience beyond all expectation. The use of actual combat footage donated by veterans helped civilians in the audience glimpse however briefly what life is like for military personnel in a moment that changes everything and then see how PTSD takes its toll...
Read the full article HERE.