Echoes of War

Director Joop van Wijk filmed children on four different continents who talk about their experiences with (war) violence. They are victims of (civil) wars or terrorist actions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Sierra Leone and New York. The children start to tell when a story is read to them about the little elephant Baba. The animal leads a carefree life, until disturbances erupt in the jungle. Eventually, he loses his father in a tragic way. More or less synchronous to the events in the story, the children tell, often disconcertingly plainly, their incredibly tragic stories about the loss of family, friends, home and hearth. They also demonstrate how they tried to pick up their lives again after the drastic events. The poignant, but never sentimental scenes with the children are alternated with animated scenes that tell the story of Baba, which form the thread of the documentary.