Filmmaker Shaun Kosta tackles PTSD in new film, "Scars"

    LOS ANGELES, CA, August 29, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Originally from Portland, Oregon, Shaun Kosta is making a name for himself in the film/television industry.

His family are fifth-generation Oregonians, but all of them, including Shaun, matriculated to the University of Colorado in Boulder for college. After finishing his undergrad, Shaun moved to Los Angeles and attended the prestigious UCLA program for screenwriting.

After winning a few awards at UCLA, he began selling scripts soon after graduation. But his real passion was to become a director and auteur. He began his directing career with a short titled,"Life Unkind," and then followed it up with an award-winning feature-length film called, "The Republic of Two," starring Brent Bailey (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Janet Montgomery (Black Swan). The film was touted by Indiewire as a "Genuinely Sweet and Romantic Movie" and Film Threat called it "The It-Movie of [the year]."

"I try to capture authenticity and spontaneity in everything that I do," Shaun says. "So you can tell that this is made by someone with a pulse, this is made by someone who listens…" he laughs. "I try to make drama mixed with comedy and throw in the thrills and action when appropriate for the story."

For his sophomore film, he will be working on a film about veterans suffering from PTSD and their families called, "SCARS," adapted from a book by a well-loved Portland priest named Richard F. Berg. Bob Harold, a family friend who was part of Father Berg's parish, introduced Shaun and Father Berg.

"I loved the book," Shaun says, "and I saw clearly that this was a tool for those suffering from post-traumatic stress and what they go through." Although Shaun is not a veteran himself, he has a lot of family in the service, including his uncle, whom Shaun describes as a hard-core mountain man. He adapted the book into a screenplay that his uncle would be able to appreciate.

"We lose about twenty American veterans a day to suicide. Our goal is to help them by showing we hear them. But they're hard to reach… like my uncle. But he loves a good story with drama, heart, and humor. This movie will be that."

Shaun continues, "All the veterans I talk to - they all talk about team and service. This movie is to celebrate that. It is also about what is happening when the lights are off when they think about the past and everything they have seen, as well as what is happening to their family in the present. In large part, this movie is about faith and trying to find something bigger than one's self."

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