Hidden Wounds

Music video, interactive music documentary
 

Documentaries are not always the most appropriate way of reaching your audience. This is why we created a video clip.

In the past decade, hundreds of thousands of men and women have been sent to wars that were not theirs and which those at home often did not understand. The Ancient Greeks already described symptoms of post-traumatic stress but in a period of peace missions and wars abroad they are still being seen everywhere. A lot has been written and numerous documentaries have been made on the subject, but how would you best be able to reach the veterans most directly in their surroundings? The question was answered for Arnold and Eefje by dEUS, the renowned Belgian band that brought out a called number Hidden Wounds which featured on their Following Sea album. Contrary to most of their poetic and personal numbers, this one sounded like a documentary in the form of a song. Arnold and Eefje talked to singer Tom Barman and manager Christian Pierre and managed to gather funds to make the interactive documentary video clip possible. They set off together with their former Prospektor colleague Tomas Kaan.

MUSIC VIDEO
Hidden Wounds by dEUS was inspired by an article by journalist Erwin James, writing for The Guardian about the bouts of uncontrolled violence among former soldiers – mainly war veterans – once they re-entered civilian life because they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Hidden Wounds is an evocation of post-traumatic stress. It is told in a very personal and honest way through the history of Jimmy Johnson, a British soldier.

In the video, Arnold and Eefje replace Jimmy Johnson’s poignant story with similar stories of post-traumatic stress told by veterans from countries such as the United States, England, the Netherlands and Belgium. Whether old or young, maimed or in fine physical health, they are all afflicted by the same hidden wounds. As they tell Jimmy Johnson’s story, more than twenty mouths mime dEUS’s Hidden Wounds.