Before the official cinema release in February, director Florian Baron, together with Prof. Dr. Nestoriuc, Chair of Clinical Psychology at the Helmut-Schmidt-University Hamburg, presented his film “Stress” on 30.01.2020 at the Helmut-Schmidt-University. The film deals with the everyday life of five young American Afghanistan war veterans who returned from their missions without visible physical injuries, but who suffer from the psychological symptoms of trauma sequelae. The protagonists’ personal perceptions and difficulties during the war mission and in everyday life afterwards were underlined by the impressive camera work and perspective of the film team.
The film screening was followed by a panel discussion with Mr. Baron, director of the film “Stress”, Dr. Höllmer, Clinical Director of the Centre for Mental Health of the German Armed Forces Hospital Hamburg, Firts Sergeant Müller, pilot for mission victims, and Prof. Dr. Nestoriuc, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg. For many of those present, the topic of the film has a high degree of topical and personal relevance due to the military context. At the heart of the panel discussion were the director’s personal reports on the filming, the pilot Mr. Müller’s reports from his missions and the expertise in dealing with post-traumatic disorders of Prof. Dr. Nestoriuc and Dr. Höllmer. Interested contributions from soldiers, officers and officer candidates as well as university members led to lively discussions between the panelists and the audience.
Unique film impressions, many answered questions and findings from research and practice ensured that the film preview “Stress” was a success for the future leaders of the Bundeswehr.
