Tattooed Under Fire

a unique and intimate portrait of Iraq-bound and returning U.S. soldiers as they go under the tattoo needle.

This January, ReelTime @ The Radio Room delivers intimate portraits of soldiers on the brink of deployment and battle-weary vets fresh from the front lines of war in TATTOOED UNDER FIRE from Emmy-nominated Producer-Director Nancy Schiesari.  The screening is scheduled for Thursday, January 21 at 7 pm.

The intensely personal stories that comprise TATTOOED UNDER FIRE intersect at the River City Tattoo Parlor in Killeen, Texas, home to Fort Hood.  It is here that young men and women come to memorialize their fears, anticipations and emotional turmoil through an ancient art form practiced for thousands of years.

Their openness and candor provide a deeper understanding of the toll of wartime conflict on both an individual and societal level as they participate in an ancestral ritual that reflects the commonality of the human experience.

Centered on Fort Hood soldiers and focused on military experiences in the long-standing Iraq war, TATTOOED UNDER FIRE is a timely and relevant selection to kick off ReelTime @ The Radio Room’s 2010 programming.

“We’re not helping out Americans in Iraq, but we’re helping out humans.  We’re humans before we’re Americans.”

-- Featured combat medic

TATTOOED UNDER FIRE is the latest project in Nancy Schiesari’s extensive filmography.  In a career spanning over 20 years, Schiesari has earned credits as a director in films such as HISTORY MAN, A PORTRAIT OF MARTIN SCORSESE, as a cinematographer in over 30 broadcast and feature documentaries and as a producer in films such as HANSEL MIETH, VAGABOND PHOTOGRAPHER for PBS’ INDEPENDENT LENS.  She holds an MFA from the Royal College of Art in London and is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin where she teaches filmmaking and cinematography. 

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