NORTHAMPTON INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL TO PAY TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S VETERANS

Northampton, MA... Northampton, MA...The Northampton Independent Film Festival (NIFF) will pay tribute to America's fighting men and women this Veterans Day weekend, with screenings of two award-winning documentaries tackling issues from the war in Iraq to the nation's treatment of its veterans here at home.

On Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m., the Northampton Independent Film Festival has teamed up with the Amherst-based Veterans Education Project and the Northampton Office of Veterans Services to present The Ground Truth at th e Pleasant Street Theater. Hailed as "powerful" and "quietly unflinching," Patricia Foulkrod's searing documentary feature includes exclusive footage that will stir audiences. The filmmaker's subjects are patriotic young Americans - ordinary men and women who heeded the call for military service in Iraq - as they experience recruitment and training, combat, homecoming, and the struggle to reintegrate with families and communities.

"I produced and directed The Ground Truth because I felt it was time to stop hiding behind the politics," says Foulkrod. "No one was writing or talking about thousands of invisible injured soldiers, for the most part young men returning to young wives who must now be their caregivers. It became clear, while filming; that the broken hearts and shattered lives that I was seeing were profound and pervasive - whether the soldiers and their families were for or against the Iraq War."

The film is dedicated to the memory of Jeffrey Lucey, a U.S Marine from Belchertown, MA who took his own life less than a year after returning from Iraq. Jeffrey's parents Joyce and Kevin Lucey are featured in the film, and will take part in a discussion following the screening.

The Ground Truth is rated R. Admission to this special event is a suggested donation of between $8 and $15, with proceeds going to the Veterans Education Project. NIFF all-festival passes will be honored at the screening.

On Friday, November 10, NIFF, the Veterans Education Project, and the Northampton Office of Veterans Services present a screening of When I Came Home at 2:00 p.m. in the historic Academy of Music. In a film New York Magazine calls "fiercely moving," director Dan Lohaus uncovers personal stories of some of America's 300,000 homeless veterans - including the tale of Herold Noel, and Iraq war veteran living inhis car in Brooklyn. Lohaus' film reveals a failing system under which many veterans have to fight tooth-and-nail to receive the benefits promised to them by the government. Lohaus will take part in a discussion of the film following the screening.

Tickets for When I Came Home are $8.00 for adults and $7.00 for seniors and students. The screening is co-sponsored by the United Veterans of America in Leeds, the largest shelter for homeless veterans in Western New England, and The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Moviegoers are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the USO Food Pantry for military families in need. NIFF will donate 20% of the proceeds from the screening to the United Veterans of America and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

Advance general admission tickets will be available starting Wednesday, November 1 at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Academy of Music Box Office. Tickets will also be available at the door. All-festival passes are available for $125 through www.ticketweb.com starting October 25. WGBY Public Television members receive a $2.00 discount off individual tickets, and $15.00 off all festival passes. For more information, including a complete festival schedule, visit www.niff.org.

About the Northampton Independent Film Festival

The Northampton Independent Film Festival (NIFF) is committed to establishing a northeast center for the exploration, examination, and celebration of independent filmmaking. NIFF showcases the works of filmmakers whose films demonstrate quality, innovation, and independence in both form and content. NIFF is sponsored by Comcast, , The Valley Advocate, WGBY, WRNX 100.9 FM, Western New England College, 88.5 FM WFCR, the Mirage Group, and Stolichnayaź Russian Vodka. The Northampton Independent Film Festival can be found on the web at www.niff.org.