A free movie and seminar for military veterans, active duty members and first responders is coming to The Highlands on Saturday, with the mission to help with the transition to civilian life and the hurdles that often come with it.

“Brothers After War,” directed by documentarian Jake Rademacher and executive produced by Gary Sinise, will be shown at noon Saturday at Marquee Cinemas at The Highlands. Following the film, trainers will conduct a seminar for those in attendance. The movie is free to military veterans, active duty military, first responders and their families.

“Brothers After War” is the 2025 sequel to Rademacher’s 2007 documentary “Brothers At War.” The first film was Rademacher’s attempt to tell what two of his brothers, both deployed to Iraq, said was the real story of that combat, as they didn’t feel the real story was being told. Rademacher traveled to Iraq to document his brothers’ time in the Middle East, meeting new friends along the way.

“Brothers After War” tells the story of his brothers’ and friends’ return to civilian life and how it isn’t always easy. In running these seminars, Rademacher said there have been breakthroughs during the discussion periods that even he was surprised to see.

“I think a lot of times these people get an opportunity to get something off their chest,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of people share something for the first time. But I think they also benefit from hearing others and hearing what others have done to navigate the difficulties that come with taking the uniform off or coming home after war.”

Rademacher’s trip to the Mountain State came to fruition from a previous meeting with Maj. Gen. Jim Seward, the Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard. Seward saw the workshop Rademacher had conducted through the “Brothers At War” documentary while he was with the Kansas National Guard, and the two had reconnected last year.

“He told me about one of his units having a suicide the day before. And I said, ‘We work with units like that all the time,’ and he asked, ‘How quick could you get here?'” Rademacher said. “I was like, ‘pretty quick.’ So a week and a half later, we were there with 350 West Virginia National Guard soldiers in (Advanced Individual Training.)”

After Rademacher had heard the news of WVNG Spc. Sarah Beckstrom being killed in an ambush in Washington D.C., he wanted to reach out and support the West Virginia National Guard soldiers and their families. He then wanted to expand it to military veterans in the Northern Panhandle.

The seminar will include discussions and journaling. Those in attendance will get lunch and a complimentary journal.

Rademacher said it has been very moving for him to be able to create a space for military veterans to open up about their experiences and find relief and comfort.

“It’s a safe place to come in and have that feeling, to have that conversation,” he said. “You’re among other people that get it and that understand. It’s very therapeutic to be able to open up and talk about some of these experiences, and get a little insight from someone else about them.

“You can bring a family member and they can get a much better understanding of an aspect of your life or something you might still be holding on to, and you don’t have to do all the work to try to explain it.”

Those interested in attending the movie and seminar can RSVP at baw.mov/53026.