our mission
after war’s mission is to reveal tales post-conflict, when the international press has left and the weapons have gone quiet. Disarming yesterday’s combatants, searching for the missing people, overcoming trauma, healing child soldiers, inventing a nation, judging crimes… So many stories that ask the same question: How can one live again after such horror?
It is only then after war that we can unravel the complex realities on the ground, pinpoint the seeds of potential upcoming wars, and maybe halt their sprouting.
after war wants to rewrite the narrative of war-torn countries, shattering indifference, igniting global curiosity, nurturing a common desire for recovery as well as to foster improved collaboration with journalists and fixers from the affected countries.
story #1
looking for missing persons
After a war, thousands of people vanish.
They are nameless soldiers, consumed by infernos of hell in Mariupol, Misrata, or Mosul to be hastily buried. They are men taken away at dawn, never to return. Women, engulfed by massacres, their bodies laid to rest in unopened mass graves of collective sorrow.
They are ghosts, lingering in the aftermath, hindering any reconciliation.
In Ukraine, 15,000 soldiers and civilians vanished in a year. In Iraq, more than 250,000 people have disappeared since the late 1980s. Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, more than 130,000 persons have gone missing. Colombia, ravaged by war, has recorded 120,000 missing lives. To find peace, to grieve, countless families yearn for the truth.
a long-feature documentary and short films
ghosts of war
A 90-minute film intended for an international audience will be shot across three continents (Ukraine, Iraq, Colombia).
This documentary will follow women in search of their husbands or sons, either a few weeks after their disappearance or decades later, as they relentlessly strive to find their loved ones’ whereabouts.
These unwavering bonds of love will offer a different perspective on war, a kind of “female gaze” that has never been explored before.
In addition to the main documentary, there will be shorter versions produced from the main film, but this time by local journalists and aimed at local audiences in Colombia, Ukraine, Iraq, and Nigeria.
They will showcase their voices and perspectives and ensure a truly international discussion on this theme and a global impact.
founder
Anne Poiret is a distinguished French journalist and documentary filmmaker. She received the 2022 International Emmy Award for best documentary and the 2007 Albert Londres Prize. She focuses on topics related to situations of no-war/no-peace: the aftermath of armed conflicts, the human and political consequences of wars, and the actions of the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations.