Love Hate Love Remembers a Son Lost on September 11th and the Foundation that Addresses PTSD Across the Globe

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When Steve and Liz Alderman lost their son Peter at the WTC on 9/11, they almost immediately searching for a fitting manner to remember him. The couple was clued in when they randomly learned that there are hundreds of millions around the world who suffer severe mental illness due to torture, war, and terrorism. Thus, the Bedford couple began the Peter C. Alderman Foundation to address this global epidemic. Ten years later, their story has received worldwide recognition and is the subject of a new documentary. The film also has one of Hollywood’s most famous actors as its executive producer.

“We will be meeting him for the first time when it premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26th,” said Liz Alderman of Sean Penn and Love Hate Love.

Interestingly, the film came about under very similar circumstances as the foundation. The Alderman’s were involved in the memorial committee right after 9/11, and found it rife with greed, politics and power plays. As a result, they knew a proper remembrance would have to be done on their own.

Similarly, NBC reporters Dana Nachman and Don Hardy found the same type of negative vibe surrounding their coverage of memorial efforts. "There had been so much squabbling going on between families that they really wanted to find some positive stories where love triumphed over hate, said Ms. Alderman.

Through a mutual friend, Nachman and Hardy were introduced to the Alderman’s. "The film is not just about us," Liz said. "It’s the intertwining of three stories with ours being the most prominent."

Sean Penn wasn’t far behind because he was affiliated with Hardy and Nachman from their previously acclaimed documentary, Witch Hunt. “When they brought this to him,” Liz revealed, “he was very, very interested and pleased to executive produce.”

After all the preliminaries, the filmmakers set out to bring home the message. They traveled to one of PCAF’s rehabilitative centers in Uganda to witness firsthand a tragedy that is in no way isolated. “I think they were deeply affected,” Liz lamented.

At the same time, it was more than a walk along side the shoes of their subjects. “Don and Dana crawled inside our lives,” said Steve Alderman, "and they were with us every minute as we functioned over there."

As for the film’s effectiveness in conveying the tragedy and triumph of the foundation, Liz Alderman feels she isn’t the best to comment. She’s seen it so many times and lives the life everyday, so she defers to the festival’s interest in the work. “Its excellence is to me demonstrated by the fact that it was accepted at Tribeca,”Liz boasted.

Additionally, the documentary is playing at the venue’s largest theater and is one of the few films in which a discussion will follow – Sean Penn included.

Otherwise, Love Hate Love isn’t necessarily an emotional journey the Alderman’s took after Peter’s death, but they certainly understand the concept the filmmakers were after. In return, they hope recent recognitions such as USAID’s upcoming case study on PCAF’s outreach into Liberia will become more common place. "We’re advocating for our patients and raising awareness, Steve said.“That’s what’s important about the film.”

Bringing it back to the beginning, Peter Alderman no longer just lives in the memory of a legion of family, friends and individuals helped in places like Haiti, Cambodia, and Africa.“Our daughter just gave birth to a baby boy on April 7th, and his name is Peter,” Liz exclaimed.

One of five grandchildren, he’s the only one nearby and is very important to Steve and Liz. But given all the love and the story that now precedes him on celluloid, maybe someday many more will feel the same way.

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