It's Afghanistanimation!

There's a new film festival coming to town and it's going to offer the kind of insight into Canada's military mission in Afghanistan that no private civilian has had before.

Edmonton Garrison's Military Family Resource Centre (also known as the MFRC) is presenting its first ever Afghan Mission Film Festival on Friday. The educational event is the first stop on a cross-country tour to bring a broader awareness of our military's involvement in the Middle East.

"Oftentimes, you just hear about it in the news and for a lot of us who aren't in the military, it's a distant concept to us," explained Christina Weichel, marketing and communications co-ordinator.

These films are also being used to promote a historical legacy document. Lt. (Navy) Melanie Graham is working on a project to compile personal stories on the military effort for a book. Since this is the last tour in Afghanistan (scheduled for wrap up next March), the importance of preserving these stories has never been more important.

"This fest is meant to shed light on that. What that's doing is collecting soldiers' stories from when they were in Afghanistan. She's trying really hard to just get people to share those stories."

Those stories will be published in Afghanistan: A Soldier's Story, set for release in November 2014. Graham hopes that there will be a snowball effect and that more and more people will come forward to share their stories as more awareness arises out of the project.

"It's a classic philosophy," she began. "If you've ever sat around a pub table or a campfire or a dinner table, one person tells a story and suddenly everybody has a story they want to tell to. I'm asking people to share as a way of both priming the pump, and, in an act of good faith, I'm sharing stories with them that others have shared with me."

Weichel added, "These films compiled do share some of the stories that are going to be highlighted. This is just to bring people together and get them talking about the project and to inform people about what happened and what is happening in Afghanistan, just to give it a more human side to it."

The line-up has four films. Operation Apollo is a 25-minute film. "It depicts Canada's military contribution to the international campaign against terrorism from October 2001 to 2003," Weichel said.

Homefront is a TV documentary that recorded the experiences of Canadian soldiers' spouses, children and families as they waited at home as the military was engaged in this mission to stabilize Afghanistan.

Next up is Desert Lions: Canadian Forces Mentors in Kandahar. "That was filmed in the heart of Taliban country by army reservists and former CBC reporter Mike Vernon. This film is an on-the-ground look at Canadian soldiers stationed in Nakhonay. That's known as one of the deadliest regions in Kandahar province."

Lastly, there will be a screening of Waging Peace: Canadian in Afghanistan. It follows Richard Fitoussi's journey that nearly cost him his life. "He set out to learn why Canadian soldiers are dying on this mission but it has sparked more controversy than any other military intervention in Canadian history to date."

To learn more about the Afghan Mission Film Festival and the Afghanistan: A Soldier's Story book project, visit online at: www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca.

The centre

For 23 years, the MFRC has served the families of all military personnel by providing support, resources, programs and services to meet the unique challenges of life in military service. It offers family and parenting supports including childcare, deployment support, short term counselling, plus unique services such as a playschool and the Terrific Twos program for children. There is also a Navigator program for families with disabilities.

The facility is for its extended military family of more than 6,000 members.

To learn more about the Afghan Mission Film Festival and the Afghanistan: A Soldier's Story book project, visit online at: www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca.

Otherwise, please visit www.familyforce.ca/sites/edmonton for information on the MFRC and its programs.