Day One follows wild day in the life of divorced Afghan interpreter

Military veteran Henry Hughes joins Shad to discuss his Oscar-nominated short Day One, based on an intense experience he had during a counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan. His main character, an interpreter named Feda, is based on a real colleague who acted as his go-between.

"I don't think we've been able to capture anything new about war in some time," says Hughes, adding that his interpreter's story was a "ripe conflict." Like Feda, his colleague joined the military following a divorce. 

"I thought it was really profound that someone would leave basically a really bad marriage and run away and go to war to have this Eat, Pray, Love experience with 40 dudes on a mountain top."

Hughes also explains how he came to agree that "all true war stories are a lie"; that the essence of truth can come through fiction.

WEB EXTRA | Watch the trailer for Day One below. Hughes says he sees Feda as a kind of Lawrence of Arabia character, one who must grapple with the intensity of life in combat.