Experiencing Interruptions?

Real Fake War

Real Fake War is a deeply personal documentary that tells the story of Travis “TJ” Truax, a Marine Corps combat veteran struggling to cope with PTSD through war reenacting.

As a troubled teen, Travis “TJ” Truax joined the marines to find a sense of purpose, but he wasn’t prepared for what he would experience overseas. Upon returning to the states and leaving the marine corps years later, his teenage hobby of war reenacting took on a new, deeper meaning. For TJ, reenacting and his deployment to Afghanistan blend together as he navigates his life after the end of 20 years of war in the middle east, the onset of PTSD, and the loss of his friends to suicide.

  • Tommy Dilger
    Director
    Skip Liberty: Shooting in Vietnam, Victory Journal
  • Gabriel Gorsuch
    Director of Photography
    Thin Air, Under the Moss
  • Aidan Reed
    Editor
    Thin Air
  • Sedika Mojadidi
    Producer
    Facing the Dragon
  • Shawn Tishler
    Post Sound
  • Travis Truax
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Wren Yates
    Graphic Designer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Short, War
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 25, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.90:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Savannah College of Art & Design
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Tommy Dilger

Tommy Dilger is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker and SCAD graduate with an interest in military history. His feature documentary Skip Liberty: Shooting in Vietnam has received awards at the San Francisco Veterans Film Festival and the Grand Rapids Film Festival.
Currently, Tommy is working as the director, writer, and host of Victory Journal, a WWII educational series available on HistoryFix.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Real Fake War stems from my interest in military history and war reenacting, which I began at age 16. I met TJ in 2019 at a reenactment in our home state of Michigan and we have become close friends in the years since. When finding a subject for my thesis film, I knew that TJ had a unique and interesting story that needed to be told.
For the first 19 years of my life, the United States was at war in the Middle East. With the fall of Kabul in 2021, I reflected on what it meant to experience peacetime for the first time in my life and the effect 20 years of war had on its veterans and the country as a whole.
As TJ opened up to me about his experiences in the wake of the US’ sudden pullout from Afghanistan, I learned that many veterans feel that the US turned its back on a country it spent 20 years fighting in, with veterans feeling that the government has failed them and the people of Afghanistan leading to extremely high suicide rates with vets.
In Real Fake War, I explore the after effects of this war on a deeply personal level and how a hobby like war reenacting allows TJ to experience a recreation of his traumatic experiences in combat in a safe way.