Kyle Hausmann-Stokes shares his military experience, filmmaking debut that won a SXSW award, the role of the Legion in his success and more on this week’s episode of Tango Alpha Lima.
After serving as an Army paratrooper in Iraq, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes went to film school at the University of Southern California on the GI Bill. That turned out to be a fulfilling way to pursue a life’s passion while paying tribute to his brothers and sisters in arms.
“I’ve always been driven to make films, but specifically, to make films about veterans and military, our people,” says Hausmann-Stokes, a Bronze Star recipient, who is this week’s guest on the American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
“This movie, ‘My Dead Friend Zoe,’ was kind of born at The American Legion,” he explains. That’s thanks to a proof of concept 14-minute film, “Merit X Zoe,” which debuted at American Legion Hollywood Post 43 and led to the feature film.
After film school, Hausmann-Stokes spent a decade writing, producing and directing content about the military, veterans and mental health. In 2012, he co-founded Veterans in Media & Entertainment (VME), the nation’s foremost nonprofit organization for veterans working in the entertainment industry. (Veterans in Military & Entertainment Director of Career Placement Barbara Autin was a guest in this previous episode.)
Hausmann-Stokes made his directorial debut with the feature film "My Dead Friend Zoe," which he also co-wrote and produced. The film, a creative take on the post-war experience and a tribute to veterans of all generations, won the 2024 SXSW (South by Southwest) Audience Award and Woodstock Grand Jury Best Narrative.
“This is not the type of film that is going to make you feel badly or emotional in the wrong way,” he says. “There’s no action in this film. No gunfire. No blood. This is not a war film. This is a film about veterans. It’s not a pity party. They are not weak. They are not broken. This is a positive film about post-traumatic growth.”
The movie “is a 93% true autobiographical story,” he says, noting it resembles his post-service journey. While it is about his life, the main characters have been changed to be women veterans.
After the movie’s debut in March 2024 at SXSW, it was released in theaters nationwide on Feb. 24. Post 43, where Hausmann-Stokes is a member, hosted the Los Angeles premiere.
VME, which was created in Post 43’s basement, has grown to be a “conduit between veterans and Hollywood,” he says. “It was born in the Legion and I couldn’t be more grateful to the Legion.”
Also, co-hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley chat about:
• The anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
• A $9.8 million commitment to study psychedelics for active-duty troops.
• Farming as a form of therapy for veterans.
You can also check out the 300 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima