Thursday, March 1st at 7pm @ Film Streams' Ruth Sokolof Theater

The Werner Institute and Film Streams welcome Irish filmmaker Declan Keeney to Omaha for a special screening of his documentaries WE ARE NOT AFRAID (28 minutes) and WE CARRIED YOUR SECRETS (58 minutes).

Each film explores the devastating toll of long-lasting conflicts — the Siege of Sarajevo in WE ARE NOT AFRAID and the Troubles in Northern Ireland in WE CARRIED YOURS SECRETS — and the process of healing through remembering. The films will screen together at Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater on March 1, followed by a post-show Q&A with Keeney, who will be visiting from Belfast.

Tickets for the event are at Film Streams’ regular prices: $9 general, $7 for seniors, students, teachers, military and those arriving by bicycle, and $4.50 for Film Streams Members. Advance tickets can be purchased at www.filmstreams.org or at the box office inside Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater. 

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, WE ARE NOT AFRAID 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, WE CARRIED YOUR SECRETS 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.

About the Filmmaker:

An award-winning filmmaker with 12 years experience working for the BBC, Declan Keeney teaches film practice at Queen’s University Belfast. He regularly works as a freelance director of photography and filmmaker. Fully trained by the BBC for work in civil unrest/riotous situations, Keeney has unique experience working on the frontline of broadcast journalism and news reporting in Northern Ireland for over a decade. His documentary about that conflict, WE CARRIED YOUR SECRETS, premiered at the Belfast Film Festival in April 2011. As director of photography, some of his most recent awards are for the short film JAMES, which has won 21 international awards, including a best cinematography award at the Palm Springs international Film Festival 2008. Accepted to the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, the film was also the first short from Northern Ireland officially selected to play at the Sundance Film Festival.

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