Films Series in Honor of Veterans Day

November 11 marks Veterans Day, a time when America honors those who have served their country in the Armed Forces.  As a salute to Veterans Day, Carlsbad City Library will screen two war-related films in November as part of its free Carlsbad Film Series.

At the suggestion of Carlsbad Patch.com’s editor Deanne Goodman, the moving HBO documentary Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq will be shown on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. In Alive Day Memories, Emmy Award-winning actor James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) interviews 10 soldiers and Marines after they return home from Iraq with severe disabilities. Augmented by harrowing live footage, Alive Day Memories surveys the real cost of war through memories of the soldiers’ “alive day,” the day they narrowly escaped death.

Attendees are invited to join the library and Carlsbad’s Patch.com for a reception in the library’s courtyard following the film. Alive Day Memories was released in 2007, runs 57 minutes and is recommended for mature audiences.

The film series concludes on Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. with Glory, which highlights the American Civil War’s first all-black regiment, led by the idealistic, northern commander Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). “A stirring and long overdue tribute to the black soldiers who fought for the Union cause in the Civil War,” cheered Variety. Glory also stars Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, runs two hours and is rated R.

The films will be shown in the library’s Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, located at 1775 Dove Lane. Reservations are not required and attendance is free.