GI Film Festival San Diego opens with POW-themed biographical documentary 'Dear Sirs'

SAN DIEGO – The 2022 GI Film Festival San Diego opens Tuesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. with the biographical documentary feature "Dear Sirs." All screenings will be in-person at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park through May 21. Tickets for opening night cost $25 for general admission and $20 for military, veterans or KPBS members. All tickets can be purchased online at GIFilmFestivalSD.org.

"Dear Sirs" tells the story of a simple man, Silvio Pedri, who spends his life dutifully providing for his family without complaint. When he passes away, his grandson, film director Mark Pedri, and Mark's wife and film producer Carrie McCarthy, discover an archive of letters, photos, and documents detailing Silvio's time as a prisoner of war during World War II. The discovery inspired Mark and Carrie to bike over 500 miles across Europe following the original POW transportation routes to tell his grandfather's story.

A 92-minute documentary feature, "Dear Sirs" details horrifying experiences of POWs during World War II and shines a light on the stigma around post-traumatic stress (PTS) and military mental health. In the film Mark narrates, "I'll never know exactly what [Silvio] went through, and I guess I'll have to be okay with that. I was afraid to ask. I didn't know how to ask....So I didn't do anything. He gave every second of his life for 60 years to his family, and I never stopped to think that maybe he needed someone – someone to talk to, someone to understand that it's complicated."

For seven years, the GI Film Festival San Diego has worked to bridge the military-civilian divide with each film selected telling a compelling and unique story and challenging the notions about what it means to serve. The films selected go beyond one-dimensional depictions of veterans, service members, and their caregivers and families to give the festival-goer a peek behind the curtain at the difficulties and struggles that come along with serving one's country.

"Dear Sirs" is the first in a lineup of 26 military-themed films that will screen during this year's GI Film Festival San Diego. Additional film themes and plot lines this year include mental health, military sexual trauma, the untold Filipino American military experience, women in service, transitioning to civilian life, life as a military spouse, veteran suicide, and much more.

Military film festival resumes in-person format, video on demand rentals available

All films shown at the in-person screenings will also be available as video on demand rentals, beginning the day after their festival debut through Memorial Day, May 30. This option gives festival fans who are not able to attend the screenings in person the flexibility to participate and enjoy the films wherever they choose during the rental time frame.

The online box office is open with general admission tickets and All Access Passes available for purchase, https://gifilmfestivalsd.org/2022/films-and-events/. Tickets for most in-person screenings (with the exception of opening night) start at $10 each or $8 for military, veterans, and KPBS members. VOD rentals will be $10 each. Guests attending in-person screenings will be asked to observe and follow COVID-19 policies which can be found under "How to Fest" at https://gifilmfestivalsd.org/2022/.

Submitted by The GI Film Festival San Diego.