Documentary screening: Eternal Sentinel and discussion with the director
Photo: Ilha Productions
Welcome to a screening of the documentary Eternal Sentienl and a conversation with director Maryam Ashrafi. The documentary highlights the lingering harm caused by landmines and similar explosive devices, and focuses on journalists' experiences of landmines and the long-term consequences of the war in Iraq and Syria.
The event is organized within the framework of the course "War's silent legacy" by the research group Civil wars and military interventions (CWAMI) at the Department of War Studies at the Swedish Defence University.
About the documentary
The film follows Maryam Ashrafi's journey as she meets journalists who have been wounded or witnessed fatal incidents involving landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Syria. Through personal stories, including Maryam's own trauma, the film sheds light on the urgent issue of landmines and IEDs, which claimed the lives of 31 journalists in Iraq and 14 in Syria between 2000 and 2022.
By sharing these experiences, the film aims to open a conversation about the mental health challenges faced by journalists working in conflict zones, while also highlighting the long-term consequences of war—particularly the persistent threat posed by landmines and IEDs.
About the director
Maryam Ashrafi is Paris-based Iranian photographer. Born in Tehran in 1982 during the Iran and Iraq war, Maryam is passionate for sociology which led her to focus her interest in social and socio-political issues in countries around the world. Graduated with a BA in social documentary photography from the University of Wales, Newport in England, she began to explore these issues, focusing in particular on the situation of Kurds.
For several years, she has been working on different subjects: refugees in Paris, mobilization of the Kurdish and Iranian diasporas, the Indignants Movement in Paris and riots in Paris following different social and political issues around the world. Above all, as a freelance independent photographer, she has covered the aftermath of wars from Kobane in Northern Syria to Sinjar in Iraqi Kurdistan, until 2018. Her work on Kurdish resistance movements has been the subject of several exhibitions and publications, including the Guardian. She has published her first book; Rising among ruins, Dancing amid bullets with Hemeria, a French publisher in Paris, documenting the consequences of war and the lives of civilians returning to their homes. Her long-term work on Kurdish issues has also driven her to work as a camerawoman in documentaries such as “I Am The Revolution” and she is currently working on her first documentary film; Eternal Sentinel as a director.
Registration by 17 February
External guests are warmly welcome, but need to register no later than February 17 via the link.
Students and staff at the Swedish Defence University do not need to pre-register, first come, first served.