Tribute Accolades: Documentary/Biographical
By Craig Kuhl -- Multichannel News, 11/12/2007
After seeing an eight-minute demo, WE TV senior vice president of programming Steve Cheskin knew he had found a story that needed to be told.
“Those eight minutes were so powerful, with cut together images of women and their experiences in Vietnam, along with real-life footage of China Beach and nurses treating the wounded, we all felt we had to do this story,” Cheskin recalled. “It really made the difference with women telling their stories. It was remarkable and something special.”
Produced by Creative Street Entertainment, the one-hour documentary Vietnam Nurses With Dana Dalany offers a real-life look at the casualties and horrors of war seen through the eyes of eight young nurses, all of whom were in their early 20s and untrained for combat conditions, on the front lines in Vietnam. It went on to win a News and Documentary award from the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, and now Women in Cable Telecommunications' 2007 Tribute Accolades Award in the Documentary/Biographical category.
“Clearly, there are incredibly powerful moments of losing soldiers and how that impacted the nurses. But they also recognized the importance of telling their stories. They went in as girls and weren't ready to be thrown into this war, which was different than any other. They showed remarkable strength and courage,” Cheskin said.
The documentary, he added, also stays true to the network's mandate of empowering women. “We felt it matched our mandate and was an incredible story to tell,” he said. “A lot of our shows are fun and entertaining, and we're proud of that. We also have a responsibility to tell important stories that make a difference.”
Cheskin recalled a special screening at Arlington Cemetery, at which the nurses were honored.
“You could see the reaction of the crowd in the auditorium at Arlington — a standing ovation, which is very unusual,” he said. “It is a unique film of that era, and reinforces our belief in doing important stories on women. It was a moment we'll never forget, and shows the power of film.”
