View From the Bridge: Stories from Kosovo

How do you stop a hatred that has survived generations? How do you envision peace when war is all that you have ever known? How do you rebuild a society that has been torn apart by the politics of hate? After a convoluted history encapsulating hundreds of years of turmoil between Serbians and Albanians, the United Nations forces took control of Kosovo in 1999 under a transitional administration that has not brought any of the much hoped for peace. Left are little Shota, an Albanian orphan whose father was killed on the first day of the war, the day after she was born… two Serbian brothers who return “home” to see what remains after six years of exile… the Gypsies who live in United Nations-built camps on toxic mine dumps, slowly succumbing to lead poisoning. All are riveting personal accounts of life in a divided nation. A particular geographical flashpoint is the city of Mitrovica, which has served as the unofficial line between Serbian and Albanian Kosovo. In 2001 the UN built a new bridge, meant to signify unity, connecting the north and south sides of the city. That bridge is one symbol of perilous peace… and peace is only for the brave. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes tragic, the struggle to make peace in Kosovo exposes the human cost of the politics of hate. (In Kosovar, Albanian and English with English subtitles)-CCP