How you can help Carlos Arredondo tell his story...

WGBH in Boston is currently in the public voting phase of the open call for film shorts about war to accompany showings of the Ken Burns film The War, which is about WWII.

One of the finalists is Janice Rogovin who is filming the story of Carlos Arredondo. You may remember Carlos because on his birthday on August 24,2004 three Marines showed up at his door to tell him that his son Alex was dead. In his grief, Carlos set the Marine's van on fire, and burned himself severely, nearly taking his own life. Carlos and his wife Melida have since dedicated their lives to stopping the madness of war. This film is Carlos's story.

You can see all the pitches and film clips here, and here is the link to the video clip of Carlos. The clip that gets the most votes will earn $2000 for the filmmaker to finish their short.

From the pitch:

The film is not about right or left, red or blue, right or wrong, but stays on the human level. For those of us who are not directly involved in the war, how can we comprehend what it is like to lose a child to the war?

I don't personally know Carlos and Melida but they are in my extended circle of anti-war activist friends and acquaintances, and I've heard their story and seen their faces, and their tragic, painful loss touched me from the beginning. It's a story worth sharing, so if you agree, you can go vote for Janice to win the funds to complete her short film on Carlos, giving us a small and personal glimpse of what means to lose a child to war.