The 24-hour news cycle has made us all too aware of the places in the world where bombs reign and wars terrorize. But what happens when conflict ends, and guns are silenced? The media covers war, but very rarely covers the important period of aftermath, when ordinary people begin the extraordinary work of rebuilding. The Aftermath Project, a nonprofit visual storytelling organization, has spent the past ten years telling the unreported story of how countries and communities struggle to rebuild post-conflict. In supporting photographers to document these stories from around the world, it creates a powerful visual narrative of the true costs of war.

This short promotional film pays tribute to the photographers of the The Aftermath Project and its influence on how we tell the story of war.

The film premiered at the National Geographic Photography seminar on January 12th, 2017. It is featured on The Aftermath Project’s website and is being used to help promote a traveling exhibition. A shorter version of the film will be used for a Kickstarter campaign in spring 2017 to support a tenth anniversary book, co-published with Dewi Lewis Publishing.

The Aftermath Project is a nonprofit organization committed to telling the other half of the story of conflict — the story of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again, to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace. The Aftermath Project holds a yearly grant competition open to working photographers worldwide covering the aftermath of conflict. In addition, through partnerships with universities, photography institutions and non-profit organizations, the Project seeks to help broaden the public’s understanding of the true cost of war—and the real price of peace—through international traveling exhibitions and educational outreach in communities and schools.