Milo Rau / IIPM

The Civil Wars

«The Civil Wars» is the most personal work of the internationally renowned author and director Milo Rau  («Die letzten Tage der Ceausescus», «Hate Radio», «Breiviks Erklärung»). It explores why young men would rather go to Syria to fight for an Islamic theocracy than to live in Western Europe. Rau and the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM) have been given answers not only while researching Salafi and radical right-wing movements in Belgium, but also by the participating actors themselves. Their life stories resonate with what Rau has discovered: «We live in a fatherless time that is lacking role models.» Three men and one woman of different ages and origins talk about their lives, their childhood, their families — and their stories reflect Europe’s big political issues. In «The Civil Wars» Rau sketches a transfixing tableau of Europe at the beginning of the 21st century. (kdi)