THOSE WHO WAIT, Documentary (financing)

Rituals surrounding death have always been intrinsic to providing the fallen with the respect and dignity they deserve, while providing closure and beginning the healing process for those that survive them.

So how do you cope with the grief of a missing loved one in the chaotic fallout of the biggest genocide on European soil since World War II? How do you begin to heal yourself, your family, your community and your country while shrouded in uncertainty during the aftermath of a brutal and bloody war that left 100,000 dead and 30,000 people initially missing?

How can a nation rebuild when after 25 years of peace there are still 7,000 people unaccounted for?

With the International Organization for Missing Persons recent discover and excavation of a newly found mass grave, hope of finding the lost has returned to these families once again.

In a series of intimate, moving portraits this documentary will follow some of these extraordinary people who have been so desperately waiting for any information of their loved ones whereabouts or resting places as they wait for news.

These portraits will explore the power of hope and the importance of knowing, certainty and closure in the aftermath of a war so void of such things. We will get to know these once victims of the Bosnian War, how their grief still affects their everyday lives and how this newly found mass grave could lead towards justice for their fallen and murdered.

These accounts, some touching, others gruesome, will painfully illustrate how deep the wounds of war can run. Like a Matryoshka doll, the film will slowly shift from showing the impact that a missing person has on a personal, legal and social level while exploring the possible parts the International Criminal Court, The United Nations and national governments could be playing in finding solutions to this problem.

This film will prove that as long as there is even an ounce of hope for closure and justice for those missing people and their families, the search must not end until all 7,000 of those wounds are healed.

Director: Coen Haver

Producers: Van Osch Films (www.vanoschfilms.nl), Falcon Grove (www.falcongrove.com)