High Ground
| Year | 2012 |
| Director(s) | Michael Brown |
| Runtime | 91 min |
Featuring stunning cinematography and powerful emotions, High Ground is an honest and gripping portrayal of veterans returning from the longest war in American history. Their poignant story unfolds in unexpected ways as the team makes their way high into the Himalayan Mountains, through the villages of Nepal, over raging rivers and up terrifying steep terrain risking everything for a chance at the summit.
High Ground allows veterans to tell their stories in their own way and in their own words. It is an honest narrative that reveals the emotional and mental scars sustained by the soldiers who have survived the horrors of war. The mountain itself is a metaphor for one of the basic concepts to military action – the high ground is the safest, most defensible place with the greatest perspective. The film chronicles a showcase expedition called “Soldiers to the Summit,” bringing together disabled war veterans with world recognized mountain climbers to demonstrate what could be achieved by climbing a Himalayan giant.
A key outcome of the expedition is a documentary film that tells the inspiring stories of these heroes and spreads a healing message to a national audience. Full integration back into their community and the civilian world is a treacherous road, fraught with obstacles and pitfalls. After initial rehabilitation, these veterans are often left to fend for themselves and struggle with physical and mental roadblocks, depression and alienation. This issue affects every aspect of society, not just families and hometown communities, but our national character and our legacy. How these wounded soldiers transition is one of the most important repercussions of these wars and an adversity with which we will contend for generations.