WAR VETERANS

Documentary,  31 min, 2019

Director and Screenwriter: Tomáš Polenský

Producer: 8 Heads Productions, Czech television

Three veterans of an elite task force deployed on foreign missions face a very different battle when they return to their civilian lives. These have no clearly defined battlefield or enemy, yet they represent a series of daunting challenges. Despite the clear risks, wartime operations also provided a safe zone of male camaraderie and teamwork.

Suddenly, the three protagonists are fighting on their own in a world where bullets don't whizz and mines don't explode, yet full of inscrutable pitfalls for which military drill has not prepared them. The film charts their groping and complex search for new roles over a period of several years. It explores questions of the motivations that brought them into the army and the impact on their family life.