Experiencing Interruptions?

What Happened at the Veterans Home?

A disabled vet, her nurse daughter, and a care worker, caught dead center in the pandemic mismanagement crisis, refuse to be silenced. Featuring a powerful, multicultural, all woman cast sharing intimate stories ripped from the headlines. A passionate and inspiring 49:37 narrative film.

  • Laura Wetzler
    Director
  • Laura Wetzler
    Writer
  • Laura Wetzler
    Producer
  • Sonya Joyner
    Key Cast
    "Gloria Michaels"
    Boston theater work. Film: Mama V, School Reunion,Standing Up, Permanent
  • Judith Nelson Dilday
    Key Cast
    "Mary Emmett"
    Boston theater work
  • Rydia Q. Vielehr
    Key Cast
    "Gwen Michaels"
    Boston commercials and theater work
  • Robin Burdulis
    Key Cast
    "COVID"
  • Jared Skolnick
    Director of Photography and Editor
    The Music of Erich Zann
  • Rikk Desgres, Pinehurst Pictures & Sound
    Post Production
  • Laura Wetzler
    Music
    CDs: Songwriter's Notebook, Kabbalah Music, Flying, Again! Again! The Fracking Blues, State of the Art: Art of the State.
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Short
  • Genres:
    drama, women's stories, veteran's stories
  • Runtime:
    49 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    14,138 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3 to 16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Laura Wetzler

First time director and singer songwriter guitarist Laura Wetzler typically tours internationally in 75 to 100 concerts & lectures a year, performing original story songs, Worldbeat Jewish Music from Africa, Asia & Europe, and great hits of 20th Century American popular song. “Superb performances,” Robert Sherman NY Times. ““Great Voice, Great Writing!” WBAI, New York. Laura has released six CDs of critically acclaimed original and traditional music (iTunes, cdbaby, laurawetzler.com) Her music can be heard in the film State of the Art: Art of the State, screened at the Whitney Museum. She is a published poet & essayist, a member of Straw Dogs Writer’s Guild, and ASCAP. A native New Yorker now living in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Laura has a degree in music from Hofstra University, and has studied theater at The HB Studio in NYC, and The Happier Valley Improv School. While still touring, composing, and recording, Laura had the privilege of working under the direction of the Abayudaya Community of Uganda for 14 years, co-creating 25 different rural development projects. What Happened at the Veterans Home? is her first work as a filmmaker. Contact: info@nervygirlfilms.com or laura@laurawetzler.com

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Director Statement

Writer/Director statement: This little film was written in a state of utter outrage and grief mid pandemic, with the screenplay completed on July 4, 2020. I wrote it in response to news reports about lock down conditions and the mounting death toll in nursing homes around the world, particularly in American facilities for veterans. As a professional musician, I love working with seniors, and I could always tell the staffing conditions and morale of a place the minute I walked in. I am horrified by the fact our most vulnerable folks, and the workers who care for them, are systemically abandoned in our culture. The script was written mostly in monologues to accommodate the crisis conditions, and we opened it out as shooting circumstances and our budget allowed. With the help of special advisor Keena Keel, I was fortunate to find four amazingly gifted actors from Boston and New York who give life to Gloria, Gwen, Mary and Covid. I found a wonderful DP/editor, and a sound person, and we began rehearsing by zoom in August, 2020. The film was fast shot in Western Massachusetts, safely in accordance with pandemic protocols, on a micro budget over a period of 8 days, in Sept. 2020. I am so grateful to the cast for their great performances, and hope, through the intimate, personal stories of fictional characters, the film inspires us all to take more responsibility for our elders, veterans, and health care workers, and fight for change. We need to take better care of each other.
Laura Wetzler, Writer, Director, Composer, Producer