Veterans Legacy Film Festival will educate, inspire

Produced by Manasota Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH), in conjunction with the Ringling College of Art and Design, this film challenges perceptions and labels historically given to people of color by highlighting the struggles and triumphs of black men and women. The film will be followed by a brief panel discussion.

"GOOD MORNING VIETNAM" - 121 Min

3:15 pm       General Admission

Rated R

This film gave beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams his breakout movie role earning him nominations for an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe. In the film, Williams played Air Force sergeant Adrian Cronauer in a fictionalized account of the veteran's experience as a disc jockey during the Vietnam War.

Cronauer, who became friends with Williams after the movie's premier, shared his memories of the late actor with staff writer Jeff Schogol of the Military Times. Although Williams and Cronauer were "politically way far from each other," Cronauer was impressed with how Williams always tried to bridge the civilian-military divide, especially when Williams took the time to travel to various places throughout the Middle East to entertain the troops. Equally important to Cronauer was the idea that Williams sympathized with the difficult choices and circumstances that average servicemen found themselves in during the Vietnam War.

"Regardless of what he felt like politically, he recognized the fact nobody seemed to recognize during Vietnam, which was that there’s a difference between the people who are making the policy and the people who are carrying out that policy, the military," Cronauer told the Military Times.

Cronauer believed Williams played an extremely important role in providing Americans with a fair portrayal of service during Vietnam.

"THE WAR COMES HOME"  - 43 Min

7:30 pm       General Admission

8:30 pm       Post film discussion with Soledad O'Brien and Wes Moore