Afterwar

Burning buildings in a dense fog, a dead horse on a dusty road, people fleeing through harsh mountain landscapes. The opening images of Afterwar come from war-torn Kosovo in 1999. A dark chapter in modern European history draws to a close. After the war, children sell peanuts and cigarettes on the streets of Pristina to survive. They speak directly to us: “I’m only talking to you for one reason: I’m hungry! I’m so hungry I could eat your money!” In a film testimonial created over a period of 15 years, they transform into adults before our eyes. Yet the child still stares back at us from behind the adult gaze. Their everyday struggle for survival has become a struggle to even have a future. Haunted by memories of the past and caught in an uncertain state of limbo, they confront us with their innermost secrets and desires. Created in a close artistic collaboration with the cast, the film alternates between raw realism, staged performance and an existential meditation on the long-term repercussions of war. (Berlinale)