Labina Mitevska stars as Senada, a young mother whose only daughter Aida was removed from Bosnia-Herzegovina during the worst years of the war and presumably adopted into a Western European family.
Searching for her after the war, Senada enters illegally into Germany, where she discovers through a social worker the harsh truth of postwar adoption: Aida is alive and well and living happily with a German family.
Dark secrets emerge, leaving no one unscathed in this expertly crafted, superbly performed drama.
However, Wagner (Wallers last Trip/Transatlantis/Ghetto Kids) wanted to tell a universally recognisable story that would bring home to viewers the impact of war on ordinary people's lives.
Warchild belongs to German filmmaker Christian Wagner's Balkan Blues Trilogy, which begins with a short film, Zita, and continues with Alcatrash, currently in production.