Buried Above Ground helps audiences understand PTSD.

Retired U.S. Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalván once received some sage advice from an old sergeant of his.

“He said, ‘Smile, be nice. But always have a plan to kill everyone in the room,’” Montalván recalls.

Those words appeared in the documentary film Buried Above Ground, a riveting look at three survivors of post-traumatic stress disorder trying to exist with the mental and physical effects of the trauma they experienced. For Montalván, that trauma was the result of war. For a woman named Erundina, the trauma came from an abusive childhood and surviving domestic violence as an adult. For Ashley, the trauma resulted from barely surviving Hurricane Katrina.

Three people, three different sets of circumstances, all with the same outcome: How do you cope with what you’ve seen, done or experienced?

Filmmaker Ben Selkow spent six years following his subjects, and screened his 2015 documentary at the Carmel International Film Festival. He’s trying to change people’s mindset about trauma and, in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Selkow is bringing his film back to Monterey County for two screenings this month, which has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month. (You’ll find details of those screenings below.)

The current mindset about trauma, Selkow tells me during a phone interview while he’s wandering the streets of Brooklyn, is one of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” It’s a secret shame that many people carry, but find they must keep hidden in order to exist.

He calls upon the ideas of journalist Sebastian Junger, himself a PTSD survivor from his many years as a war correspondent: There is a crisis of connection that needs disruption.

“These are people walking around with a secret,” Selkow says. “You have symptoms and it’s a struggle, and now you carry your secret and you’re ‘mentally ill.’

“It’s very isolating, all the shame and anger. Finding connections is something we’re really trying to promote with the film, that connections are critical to recovery.”

NAMI Monterey County is coordinating with other agencies – the Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County, the county Behavioral Health Department, Each Mind Matters, the CSU Monterey Bay Health and Wellness Center, the YWCA Monterey County and the CSUMB Veterans Services Center – for a two-day event with Selkow. One of the film’s subjects, Erundina, also will speak.

Each venue will have a resource fair featuring local services for those suffering from PTSD. The first screening takes place at 6pm, Wednesday May 11, at the Black Box Cabaret at CSUMB, and the second takes place at 6:30, Thursday May 12 at Maya Cinemas in Salinas. Both events are free (but note there’s a parking fee at CSUMB). For more information, visit www.namimonterey.org.

“We’re not looking to normalize the trauma, but normalize the human experience and the possibility that recovery has a lot of different forms,” Selkow says. “Showing this film, and talking about it and sharing experiences is so powerful and emotional – sometimes you just get a nod from someone or a thank you. That’s powerful enough because you they know they don’t have to go through it alone.”

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From an awe-inspiring film to an awe-inspiring event. For all the talk about the future of the economy, and the future of business in Monterey County, an event happening this Friday, May 6, is a great chance to see that future in action. The Startup Challenge Monterey Bay business competition showcases everything from small businesses that want to remain that way, and businesses looking for venture funding that want to become huge. The event runs all day, starting at 9am with “final round pitches” and a showcase, with a 6pm reception. It takes place at the Joel and Dena Gambord Business and Information Technology Building, CSU Monterey Bay, 3052 Divarty Street, Seaside. Hit up www.thestartupchallenge.org for more information, but in the meantime, hit www.mcweekly.com for a long look from former Weekly contributor Jennie Tezak on what going through the startup challenge is really like.

MARY DUAN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at mary@mcweekly.com