The cast and crew of the movie “The Dry Land” did not expect to walk away from a recent public screening in Colorado Springs totting a handful of artwork.

But the actors were so impressed by the artwork and stories of Fort Carson soldiers participating in the new “Military Creative Expression” class that they purchased four pieces on the spot.

“The Dry Land” tells the story of an Iraq war veteran returning home to rebuild his life, and his mind. It is scheduled for wide release at the end of July, but cast members were in Colorado Springs in June for two screenings of the film – one at Fort Carson and another at Stargazers Theatre, where the class’s artwork was on display.

“It was just an amazing night,” said artist Joe Zabrinski, after his art was purchased by actress America Ferrera and director Ryan Piers Williams. Ferrera, who gained fame as the star of “Ugly Betty,” is also a producer of the film.

Williams said he became interested in the painting “Inner Conflict” after talking with Zabrinski about his struggle to let go of the nightmares after returning from war.

Williams and Ferrera also purchased “Orange Sky” by Lucas Volkamerer; “Jonah’s Experience” by Robert Kinnon; and “Painful River” by Bobby Mathis.

The Military Creative Expression class is part of a partnership between the Bemis School of Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center and Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group. It’s designed to help a new generation of American soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with hard-to-treat symptoms of combat stress.

The soldiers are part of the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Carson and suffer from a variety of physical and invisible wounds, including post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Williams also took interest in Kinnon’s work, “Jonah’s Experience,” a pencil drawing of his “second chance at life” after coming home from war to his family. Ferrera’s knowledge of Jungian’s dream analyses drew her to Volkamerer’s “Orange Sky,” where the “past is more alive than the future.”

Ferrera said she was “surprised by all the palm trees in Iraq,” which made her notice Mathis’ “Painful River.” Ferrera said she was drawn to the conflicting images of the “calm and peaceful palm tree” in the middle of the “turbulent blood-red rivers.”

Both Williams and Fererra, along with actors Ryan O’Nan and Wilmer Valderrama, stayed after the screening to discuss the therapeutic benefits of creative expressions with Zabrinski and Nguyen. They said art can “inspire and engage the community into supporting our brave men and women.”

The proceeds from the paintings will go to a scholarship for all the soldiers who are participating in the Military Creative Expression program.