Afterwar

Jewel, Joy, Hope, and Besnik were children during the Kosovo War in 1998/99. Those traumatic experiences continue to shape their lives. At the beginning, we see them in documentary footage as adolescents, roaming through a war-torn landscape. They seem to be left to their own devices, selling peanuts and cigarettes. Sometimes they speak directly to the camera, talk of their fears, of their families, now scattered to the four winds. These are moments in which they become aware of their grief and despair. Many years later, as adults, they still experience their everyday lives as existential struggles. They hardly dare to hope for a future. This film was shot over a period of more than fifteen years – in part with re-enacted scenes that were developed together with the protagonists. The director becomes their companion and ally; they entrust her with their worries, secrets, and desires. Thus the film gives personal expression to the long-term consequences of the war.