documentary film
Lost Innocents: Child Soldiers at War explores what is surely one of the most significant, growing moral tragedies of our time, bringing into question long-held assumptions about right and wrong, power and responsibility, choices and sacrifices that in an increasingly complex world have become ever more complicated. The film looks at the transformation of physically and emotionally vulnerable children into ruthless warriors and brutalized victims through first-person accounts by child soldiers and their families. It chronicles a parent forced to choose which child lives or dies, teachers bargaining to keep their students alive, journalists stymied by media blockades, NGO’s attempting to facilitate change in ravaged countries. It asks seasoned, older soldiers and statesmen: “How do you fight against children and at what cost?” It tracks former child soldiers struggling to reclaim their humanity and move beyond their status in society as outcasts, and hears from the committed individuals and organizations that work to rescue the children and support their painful attempts to find a place in civil society.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Children are sponges, absorbing any and all knowledge and experience. They are fearless and inquisitive, willing to try anything. But these same attributes also make them susceptible to the horror, injustices, and lies that accompany any conflict or war. In the stories of Lost Innocents, children have become pawns, the least expensive casualty of war. And the longer these children remain conscripted to this brutal way of living, the more capable – and willing — they become to commit horrific acts against other human beings.
Quantifiable elements such as statistics, charts, and ‘white papers’ can spur on reform recommendations, arrest warrants in absentia, and proposed resolutions, to which the media then latches on to fill their world news tonight segments, which in turn all help to raise the conscious awareness of the public to an issue. But these elements can also provide an intellectual wall, which can at times keep the public from connecting emotionally to a subject.
Expanding the small community that has been fighting the battle for these child soldiers – has always been the final objective for Lost Innocents. I believe that increasing awareness both intellectually and emotionally can assist in nurturing an environment for change with tangible results.
As a filmmaker, I know that film has the ability to both create awareness and foster change. My goal is to document and share the lives of child soldiers so that not only can any individual take advantage of this opportunity to learn, but can also be inspired and encouraged to act.
Gordon Skinner
May 2007