TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 11, 2011) - A documentary examining post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in war correspondents, and produced by a doctor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, is premiering today in Los Angeles.
"In a post 9/11 world, journalists have become 'high value' targets for assassination, kidnapping and intimidation. We wanted to examine how they are managing emotionally in this climate of unprecedented danger," says Dr. Anthony Feinstein, the producer of the film and a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook.
The film, entitled Under Fire: Journalists in Combat, features nine journalists from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. recounting their stories of traumatic experiences and brushes with death while reporting from the front lines of war. Canadian journalists Susan Ormiston, Paul Watson, and Finbarr O'Reilly are profiled in the documentary, which was directed by Martyn Burke.
The subject matter of the film is also very timely, given the situation that many journalists are currently facing in the Middle East. "Iraq has been by far the most lethal conflict for journalists, with close to 200 members of the press killed so far. This number exceeds the mortality rate for journalists from World Wars I and II and the Vietnam War combined," says Dr. Feinstein.
Dr. Feinstein, who is also a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, pioneered the research field of PTSD in war correspondents approximately ten years ago, and has since written several books on the subject. He says that while there were initially some in the media world who were skeptical of his research, large news organizations have since embraced it, and are now providing mental health support for journalists who return from war zones.
The next screening of the film will be on December 2 in New York City. A Canadian premiere date has not yet been finalized. Funding for the film was provided by CBC's documentary channel, The Canadian Media Fund, and Rogers Documentary Fund.
Contact Information:
Sybil Edmonds
Communications Advisor
(416) 480-4040
www.sunnybrook.ca