An evening with Irish filmmaker Declan Keeney, featuring two recent documentaries followed by an audience Q&A. Presented in collaboration with The Werner Institute at Creighton University.

About the films:

WE ARE NOT AFRAID (28 min.): The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, spanning nearly four years between 1992 and 1996. According to UNICEF reports, of the estimated 65,000 to 80,000 children in the city: at least 40 percent had been directly shot at by snipers; 51 percent had seen someone killed; 39 percent had seen one or more family members killed. These children have now grown up, but echoes of the past still haunt the fabric of the space that surrounds them. How do these memories inform what they have become? This documentary journeys around Sarajevo, juxtaposing stories of the past with present day images of the Bosnian city. Exploring very personal first-hand accounts of life during the siege the film reflects on the notion that post conflict societies in the rebuilding of lives, space and a sense of place, cannot ignore the legacy of the past, however difficult.

WE CARRIED YOUR SECRETS (58 min.): From standing ovations to the depths of grief for those lost, this film reflects on the very personal and inspirational stories of seven people as they come to terms with their own legacy and that of their fathers, men who were all badly affected by over thirty years of conflict in Northern Ireland. It chronicles the story of a unique and groundbreaking form of theatrical performance called “Theatre of Witness,” which gives voice to those who have been forgotten, marginalized or are invisible to wider society, helping them to deal with the ghosts that haunt their pasts. It offers heartbreak, hope, courage, and healing to those involved but challenges all of us to see a different point of view.