Burning buildings in a dense fog, a dead horse on a dusty road, people fleeing through harsh mountain landscapes. 'Afterwar' opens with images from war-torn Kosovo, 1999, as a dark chapter in the history of modern Europe draws to a close. After the war, children sell peanuts and cigarettes on the streets of Pristina in order to survive. They speak to us: ‘There’s only one reason I’m talking to you. It is my hunger! I’m so hungry, I could eat your money!’ In a cinematic testament co-created over 15 years, they transform into adults before our eyes. Yet the child still stares back at us from behind the adult gaze, as the struggle to survive becomes a struggle for a future at all. They confront us with their innermost secrets and desires, while stuck in limbo and haunted by their past.
| Original title | Afterwar |
|---|---|
| Danish title | Afterwar |
| Keywords | Kosovo, Poverty, Living conditions, Long term effects of war, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, 2020-2030 |
| Director | Birgitte Stærmose |
| Screenplay | Birgitte Stærmose |
| Producer | Lise Lense-Møller |
| Director of Photography | Marek Wieser, Troels N'Koya-Jensen |
| Editor | Stefan Sundlöf, Anne Østerud |
| Sound | Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen |
| Appearance | Gëzim Kelmendi, Xhevahire Abdullahu, Shpresim Azemi, Besnik Hyseni |
| Production country | Denmark |
| Domestic distribution | Filmbazar |
| International sales | Split Screen |
| Danish theatrical release | 26.09.2024 |
| Comment | Through a close artistic collaboration with the lead cast – Xhevahire, Gëzim, Shpresim, and Besnik – the film moves between raw realism, staged performance, and an existential meditation on the long-term repercussions of war. Any war, anywhere. |
| DFI subsidy | Konsulentstøtte |
| Danish rating | Allowed for children over the age of 11 |
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