enda
Film

Afterwar

Birgitte Stærmose, Denmark, 2024

85 min.DK/Documentary

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.
Basic information Credits
Original title Afterwar
Danish title Afterwar
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
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
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Companies

Production company
Executive Producer Magic Hour Films

Direction

Direction Birgitte Stærmose

Script

Screenplay Birgitte Stærmose

Production

Producer Lise Lense-Møller
Line producer Gazmend Bajri
Co-producer Visar Arifaj
Co-producer Fredrik Lange
Co-producer Mark Lwoff
Co-producer Misha Jaari

Cinematography

Cinematographer Marek Wieser
Cinematographer Troels N'Koya-Jensen

Editing

Editor Stefan Sundlöf
Editor Anne Østerud

Music

Music Erik Knive Skodvin

Sound

Sound designer Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen
Sound Pëllumb Ballata

Appearance

Appearance Gëzim Kelmendi
Appearance Xhevahire Abdullahu
Appearance Shpresim Azemi
Appearance Besnik Hyseni
Appearance Luan Jaha

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