Film Festival to Mark War’s Tet Offensive

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive, the Valley Glen Action/Education Network will sponsor “Vietnam at the Movies” and other events as part of a weeklong program at Valley College starting Monday.

During the week, eight films and documentaries about the Vietnam War will be shown free of charge at the college’s Monarch Hall. Titles include “The Deer Hunter,” “Coming Home” and “Good Morning, Vietnam.”

The program will culminate with a special screening of an original negative Dolby Digital print of “Apocalypse Now” on April 17 at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

Tickets for this screening are $50 and price includes an original playbill and a coffee reception with cast and crew. All proceeds from the screening will benefit the schools of the Action/Education Network as well as the National Veterans Foundation.

“It’s important that we remember the war and that we learn from it,” said Doug Claybourne, a Vietnam veteran and a producer of “Apocalypse Now.”

The screening is the first large-scale fund-raiser being undertaken by the Action/Education Network, which was created by Claybourne as a way for local schools to pool resources and raise money.

“It just made so much sense to do this,” he said. “It’s a great film that really touches people, and it’s being shown for two great causes--for history’s sake and for the school’s.”

In addition to the movies, a panel of Vietnam veterans will share their personal stories in a seminar titled “The Legacy of the Journey Home: The Effects of Vietnam” on Wednesday.

The Action/Education Network includes Valley College, Grant High School, Erwin and Kittridge Street elementary schools, and private schools Laurence 2000 and Bridges Academy.

For more information about “Vietnam at the Movies” and the special screening of “Apocalypse Now,” call (888) 655-1400 or log onto the network’s Web site at https://www.apocalypsenow.com.

Tickets for the screening may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232.