BY MY SIDE

BY MY SIDE Community Guide Available Here BEST SERVICE TO HUMANITY ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKING - Alexandria Film Festival | BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - United Nations Association Film Festival | BEST U.S. DOCUMENTARY - San Francisco Short Film Festival | MOST INSPIRATIONAL FILM - Oregon Documentary Film Festival Service Dogs • Mental Health • Lifelines to Veterans • Secondary PTSD Within Veterans Families • Human-Animal Bond • Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans • PTSD Awareness • Invisible Disability • Military Sexual Trauma • Moral Injury Among Veterans Date of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 30 minutes​​ | Language: English | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript & Study Guide | Director: Vicki Topaz | Producers: Vicki Topaz & Michael Collins | Editor: Dana Laman | Composer: Andrew Dost | Story Consultant: Eric Daniel Metzgar BY MY SIDE tells a story of hope and possibility in an intimate portrait of three veterans suffering with the invisible wound PTSD, the most prevalent and unhealed wound experienced by veterans. Approximately 20% of those who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are still haunted by visions, chased by enemies they can never outrun, and tortured by the fear that they are now the enemy. Through intimate interviews with the families and revealing footage of bonding with their service animals, the film demonstrates how wo/man’s best friend mitigates the psychic scars imprinted on those who have been in service to our country. BY MY SIDE celebrates our veterans and their love of country and family. And shows how and why service dogs – who match their loyalty and commitment – can heal broken hearts and quiet the wars within. That is the message our veterans and their families want others to know. There is hope and it can be found on the end of a leash.