KILLEEN, TX, Nov 09 (MARKET WIRE) --
As the nation continues to grapple with the causes and the impact of the
recent shootings at Fort Hood military base, The Independent Television
Service (ITVS) and Austin PBS affiliate KLRU present "TATTOOED UNDER
FIRE," a new documentary shot on location in and around Fort Hood and
Killeen, Texas. Premiering this month on public television beginning
November 8, 2009 (check local listings), "TATTOOED UNDER FIRE" captures
the chronological history of the stress and anguish of military duty
experienced by Iraq-bound and returning U.S. soldiers. What emerges is an
evocative, poignant and highly personal look at the human and cultural
cost of war, and the pressures of life on America's largest military post.
"When a tragedy like this occurs at a place like Fort Hood, it is very
unusual for public television to be able to respond immediately with a
national premiere of a new program so deeply connected to these difficult
events," said Sally Jo Fifer, CEO and President of ITVS. "As we struggle
to understand the meaning and impact of the horrific incident at Fort
Hood, we hope this very timely and important film will help shed some
light on the challenges our soldiers face and of life in the Fort Hood
community."
Directed by Nancy Schiesari "TATTOOED UNDER FIRE," was shot over four
years and centers on the military ritual of getting inked, interweaving
the personal stories of six central characters -- and their relationships
to the war in Iraq -- with the visual expressions of their tattoos. River
City Tattoo Parlor owner/artist Roxanne Willis and her team of tattoo
artists welcome young men and women daily: as they arrive, shed their
uniforms and carve permanence into their transitory flesh. Some seek to
adorn their limbs, make a statement, ward off evil with fierce engravings
or honor a loved one.
Some seek grizzlier images, like "meat tags." A play on traditional dog
tags, "meat tags" are a morbid marker of name, DOB and serial number,
designed for posthumous identification. Tattooed just under the armpit on
the torso, they are strategically located in the place most likely to
remain intact in the event of death by IED explosion. The young men and
women are introduced as they are being tattooed; raw recruits at first and
then as returning soldiers, changed in ways only their fellow soldiers can
grasp. Through the creative and sometimes subversive act of tattooing,
these young soldiers use skin to create personalized images and words
revealing a seldom seen part of the psyche of the American soldier.
"TATTOOED UNDER FIRE" is a coproduction of the Independent Television
Service (ITVS) in association with KLRU-TV, AUSTIN PBS. The national
television premiere will be broadcast on public television in more than 25
cities.
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Contact:
Voleine Amilcar
415-356-8383 x244
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