Documentary THE INVISIBLE WAR Coming to DVD 10/23

THE INVISIBLE WAR paints a startling picture: today, a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The Department of Defense estimates there were a staggering 19,300 service members sexually assaulted in 2010 alone.

Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of rape victims, the film is a moving indictment of the systemic cover-up of military sex crimes, chronicling the women's struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. It also features hard-hitting interviews with high-ranking military officials and members of Congress that reveal the perfect storm of conditions that exist for rape in the military, its long-hidden history, and what can be done to bring about much-needed change.

At the core of the film are often heart-rending interviews with the rape survivors themselves -- people like Kori Cioca, who was beaten and raped by her supervisor in the U.S. Coast Guard; Ariana Klay, a Marine who served in Iraq before being raped by a senior officer and his friend, then threatened with death; and Trina McDonald who was drugged and raped repeatedly by military policemen on her remote Naval station in Adak, Alaska. And it isn't just women; according to one study's estimate, one percent of men in the military -- nearly 20,000 men -- were reportedly sexually assaulted in 2009.

Says Dick: "We were extremely surprised by the extent of the problem, how psychologically damaging it was, and the extent of the cover-up. More than half a million service men and women have been sexually assaulted since World War II. That comes as a shock to everyone we've spoken to. This is my 10th film and its subject matter is the least known to the public of any of my films, even though it most widely affects our society."

"Many of the victims have been unable to move forward because they've been disbelieved, exiled and discarded," Ziering adds. "Our hope is that the film will be a healing tool for all the survivors who have felt abandoned despite all they have sacrificed for our country."

Both a rallying cry for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who've been assaulted and a hopeful road map for change, THE INVISIBLE WAR is one of those rare films so powerful it has already helped change military policy. 

THE INVISIBLE WAR is the recipient of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for U.S. Documentary, the 2012 Human Rights Watch Festival's Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking, the HBO Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature from the 2012 Provincetown Film Festival, the Silver Heart Award from the Dallas International Film Festival, and was an official entry at Full Frame Film Festival and HotDocs. 

THE INVISIBLE WAR is the recipient of the 2012 Human Rights Watch Festival's Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking, the HBO Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature from the 2012 Provincetown Film Festival, the Silver Heart Award from the Dallas International Film Festival, and the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for U.S. Documentary, and was an official entry at Full Frame Film Festival and HotDocs.

"Heartbreaking...what makes this savage indictment of the epidemic of rape in the U.S. military so unforgettable are not numbers but the devastating personal stories of the victims." - Los Angeles Times

"An incendiary expose...a real game-changer." The Boston Globe

THE INVISIBLE WAR is a film by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering; written and directed by Kirby Dick; produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow; executive producers: Regina Kulik Scully, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Abigail Disney, Maria Cuomo Cole, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Women Donors Network, Teddy Leifer, Sally Jo Fifer, and Nicole Boxer-Keegan.

Bonus material exclusive to the DVD include: audio commentary with director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering; extended interviews; Sundance Film Festival Post-Screening Speak-Out; footage from the VetWOW Survivor Retreat; "Cowboy Up: Equine PTSD Therapy" featurette.

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THE INVISIBLE WAR:

DVD: $29.95 US/$34.95 CAN
Catalog #: NNVG277171
Runtime: 97 minutes, plus bonus
Digital #: NNVG10001224
Rating: N/A
Language: English
Color: Color
Audio Format: Dolby 5.1
Genre: Documentary