Colter (Sinqua Walls) is sent to a veterans affairs facility after being injured in Afghanistan while serving with the Marine Corps. He hesitates about the recovery process and wants to get back to work. Not until he meets Lucy (Perry Mattfeld) and a Vietnam Vet (Brian Cox) who teaches him to fly fish that he begins to connect and heal his trauma.
Also in the cast of Fix the line are Patricia Heaton, Irene Bedard, Wes Studi, Julian Works and Chris Galust. It was written by Stephen Camelio and directed by Joshua Caldwell.
“It’s fun to show people,” Caldwell says of the film that recently played at festivals. “Whatever festival you are at, one of the most enjoyable aspects of being at the festival is seeing it with an audience. So that was a treat, and I think it was also special to have the chance to screen it with veterans and see their reaction.”
Fix the line will play next at the San Diego Film Festival at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Oct. 22, 2022.
Relationships with restoring the line
“It’s pretty special that, for the most part, everyone who was a part of this project had some kind of relationship with the subject,” Mattfeld noted. “Whether they are children of veterans or veterans themselves. I actually fell in love with fly fishing while making this movie. We had a legit coach to teach us… so everything you see on screen is practiced and the real thing. And not only did I fall in love with the fishing aspect, but it was the cathartic therapeutic experience that is on the water, and that’s a big part of the movie.”
Having a relationship with the subject, as Mattfeld mentioned, makes sense for Caldwell, as he noted that he has been a fly fisherman for years and is intrigued by PTSD and its effects.
“I am a fly fisherman and have been doing it for five years. A fly fishing script is rare, but the other aspect of it that really intrigued me was PTSD. I’d been researching that topic for a few years in relation to other projects, and none of them found a home, but I thought it was really important. So the two of those subjects together, combined with just a beautiful script… I just felt like I had to do it,” Caldwell said.
The importance of repairing the line
Fix the line is an important human story that looks at war and the veterans it affects. It’s not based on one specific story, it contains many stories, as Caldwell explained.
“This isn’t really based on a specific true story, but it’s based on a lot of true stories,” said Caldwell, who also linked that to an organization called Warriors and still waters that along with them on the film. “They’re taking post-9/11 war veterans and treating them to experiences on the water…and they’ve been very helpful in informing us about their process and putting us in touch with veterans who’ve been through it. It was really a big part of getting the film accurate and getting everything right.”
Caldwell continued: “I think we, as a collective humanity, have just gone through an incredibly traumatic experience, direct or not, there’s a lot of stress there and there’s a lot of emotions that come up and a lot of effects that you may not be fully aware of. So I think this movie is mainly about fighting PTSD, but one of the aspects of Perry’s character is that she has no connection whatsoever with the military and she experiences trauma herself. Very few people will ever understand how it is. is to be in a combat situation, but we’ve all lost someone, and we’ve all been destroyed in many different ways… for me it’s that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, that there are people, that there are organizations, that there’s the opportunity to continue what you’re experiencing and continue to live for something, I think that’s really the message of the movie, whether it’s fishing, family, woodworking or surfing, what whatever you have been through, there is a life worth living here.”
“I totally agree. I’m also very proud of the vulnerability we see from some of the strong men on screen as well. That’s something everyone can relate to. Survivor guilt is quite a big topic, but as Josh said, survivor guilt isn’t necessarily exclusive to veterans, and so there’s definitely a lot to go through for any audience member,” Mattfeld added.
Fix the line comes to us from ArtImage Entertainment, August Point Productions and CKM Entertainment.