Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Artist’s Process

In her series, “Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan,” artist Jennifer Karady collaborates with returning military veterans to restage a moment from war, producing narrative photographs that reveal how their war experiences infiltrate their daily civilian lives. The film chronicles the intricate and intimate process between Karady and one of her subjects, former Army Specialist Lucero Morales, as they connect a traumatic incident in Najaf, Iraq, with the popping sound of a biscuit can as Morales prepares breakfast for her children. They ultimately stage a photograph that helps Morales begin to heal.

Nomination: Best First-Time Filmmaker

About the Filmmaker

Jennifer Karady is an award-winning artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her nationally and internationally recognized project, Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, has been exhibited widely, including at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Palm Springs Art Museum, the University of Michigan, Berman Museum of Art, the Ringling Museum of Art, SF Camerawork, University of Denver and CEPA Gallery. Her work was featured on PBS NewsHour, in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Polka, on National Public Radio, reviewed in Frieze, and published in books such as Suffering from Realness, Art and Agenda, Out of Rubble, and Bending the Frame. Public collections include San Francisco MOMA, The Albright Knox Gallery, Palm Springs Art Museum, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Harn Museum of Art. Karady’s numerous residencies and awards include the Witt Residency at the University of Michigan, Yaddo, MacDowell, The Headlands, Blue Mountain Center, Getty Creative Images Grant, and grants from the Compton Foundation and New York State Council for the Arts. She was awarded the 2017 Francis Greenburger Fellowship for Mitigating Ethnic and Religious Conflict at Art Omi.

“Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Artist’s Process” is Karady’s first foray into documentary filmmaking. The film won the Humanitarian Award at the 2020 Fine Arts Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Plays in

Women Warriors Block

Encore viewing opportunity This collection of shorts highlight and celebrate the contributions of women service members over the years. …

Shorts Block | Stories of Healing & Resilience

This collection of documentary shorts highlight stories of healing, resiliency, and renewed purpose.