Stand To (2022)

'Stand To' is a short drama telling the overlooked story of PTSD's impact on a veteran's loved ones, told through the unique perspective of a traumatised soldier's exhausted partner. It opens on our protagonist, Adrienne, lying wide awake in bed, frozen in fear as her partner, Dean thrashes about in the grip of a nightmare. Next morning, Adrienne invites Dean out with her and her best friend, Steph, desperate to motivate him. However, Dean rudely refuses, preferring to play video games. This latest failure pushes Adrienne closer to her limit. Despite her struggles, Adrienne refuses Steph's help, determined to be Dean's saviour. Reminiscing through flashbacks, Adrienne recounts her relationship with Dean deteriorating through him going on tour, losing his best friend, Tom, and the onset of his trauma. Adrienne and Steph talk for so long that Adrienne's late getting home, which infuriates Dean. Obsessed with the idea that mistakes cost lives, he becomes dangerously irrational. Nervous, paranoid and hallucinating, Dean attacks Adrienne, convinced he's actually storming a bomb factory. Barricading herself in the bathroom, Adrienne tearfully despairs that the man she loves is gone.