New Film with 2 Free Showings Highlights Local Veteran Family’s Struggles & Hope
Contributed by Amy Bushatz
A new documentary with two free upcoming screenings at Wasilla’s Valley Cinema showcases the challenges, heartache and, ultimately, hope and optimism found in caregiving for those with hidden injuries -- including one local veteran and his family.
"Unconditional," a feature-length documentary by filmmaker Richard Lui, follows the inspirational journey of three families, including Mat-Su residents Luke and Amy Bushatz and their sons David and Huck. Created over a series of years, the film tracks the families as they work through invisible medical battles, including a traumatic brain injury sustained by Luke during his military service.
Local residents can see the film for free in December at two screenings sponsored by the Mat-Su Health Foundation and held at the Valley Cinema. The screenings, which will be followed by a chance to ask Amy and Luke Bushatz questions about the film and their experiences, will be at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 and 14, with seating to open at 6:15 p.m., first come, first seated.
The burden of so-called hidden wounds -- challenges, disease, and physical battles that no one can see -- is one that is familiar to many Alaskans. About 13% of Alaskans are military veterans, a population that daily balances the physical and emotional toll of military service. Cancer, a disease so hidden it often goes dangerously undetected, is the leading cause of death in Alaska, according to state health data. And state officials estimate over 10% of Alaskan seniors have Alzheimer’s.
But, as the film highlights, the toll of these hidden injuries and diseases doesn’t stop at the person who has been diagnosed. Standing alongside them are thousands of families and friends working as caregivers. They, too, shoulder the burden. Nationally, caregivers provide billions of dollars in support for loved ones, often silently filling needs.
The film showcases the intersection of caring for someone with a hidden disease or injury and helping the caregivers -- the families -- also find hope.
Locals will spot plenty of familiar locations throughout the movie, which was shot in the Mat-Su and at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Anchorage, as well as in Virginia, California, and D.C. The Bushatz family lives in Palmer where Amy works as a local journalist while Luke serves in the Alaska Army National Guard. Both actively volunteer in the community.
The film also features Marine Corps veteran Kate Hendricks Thomas and her husband and young son Shane and Matthew Thomas as they work through Kate’s breast cancer diagnosis, and filmmaker Richard Lui’s family as they take on his father’s Alzheimer battle.
Also available to stream on PBS, “Unconditional” has its world premiere in May at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, followed by Washington D.C. screenings in the U.S. Capitol Building and at the White House over the summer.
For more information about the December screenings of Unconditional in Wasilla, contact Kathryn Swartz at the Mat-Su Health Foundation at 907-373-2827.