Facing Darkness

Following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence in April 1992, Bosnian Serb troops besieged and bombed Sarajevo. Over a period of four years, five young filmmakers documented the bombardments and daily life during the siege—for some, the aim was simply to report the news; for others, it was a way of dealing with their fears.

The first part of this film comprises archive footage of shootings and atrocities, and of shattered apartment blocks, as well as of soldiers playing soccer. The second part takes place 30 years later, with the men who shot the material re-watching it on an iPad. While usually working with existing images, Jean-Gabriel Périot (A German Youth) supplements the archive material with his own footage here.

In interviews at the scenes of past action, the five filmmakers look back on the war, discuss the importance of the camera as a weapon, and are sometimes barely able to contain their emotions. For them, the scenes of war they shot are both an important historical document and a form of coping therapy.