The film tells the story of Ali, a child around 11 years old. We follow him through his ordinary routine, a regular school day. Every decision that he makes shows us more aspects of his personality, until he becomes someone relatable, he could be our son, our friend or even us, a few years ago.

But soon we realise Ali’s situation is nothing like ours. A bomb surprises us; he lives in a country at war. His future has already been decided by the careless decision-making of those in power. The structure of the story depicts clearly the difference between an accident, and a military decision that could have been avoided. It tackles the general assumption that civilian’s deaths are merely accidents that happen in a war context.

The intention is to show that it’s a choice to respect the rules of war that can protect civilians, and save lives.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral and independent institution, which works towards the protection and humanitarian assistance to victims of armed conflicts, and other situations of violence. Their main tools for this are the rules or war (Geneva Conventions): https://www.icrc.org/en/document/what-are-rules-of-war-Geneva-Conventions.

But most people are unaware of the existence of these rules. Their main purpose is to maintain some degree of humanity in armed conflicts, saving lives and reducing suffering. They set out limits to war, offering protection to civilians, specifying parameters as to what is acceptable and what isn't on the battlefield and beyond. But these rules are not being respected, and that means civilians are dying by the thousands. The long-term objective of the campaign was to raise awareness amongst the general public about International Human Rights and the Geneva Convention.

ICRC.

“Decisions” Spot

We begin inside a small, modest apartment, where we notice a fan moving the air around a warm room. Suddenly a young boy appears in the scene. He starts grooming his hair gently, as if he was looking at himself in the mirror, but staring directly at us with deep brown eyes.

We hear music coming from a radio in the kitchen, while the boy moves quickly around his room. He’s looking for something a bit nervously. Then he grabs a schoolbook, puts it inside his school bag, and after closing it carefully and placing it on his back, he leaves the room.

We follow him on his way to the kitchen. The air is thicker here; someone is cooking but we can’t see whom. With a mischievous look, the kid steals a piece of candy from the kitchen counter and leaves the room fast, before anybody notices. More and more aspects of his personality are portrayed in his daily behaviour, one random school day.

He starts to pass his little sister in the living room. The girl is sitting at a table, drawing while she playfully swings her legs in the air. The boy notices that the girl’s shoelaces are untied, and almost reluctantly bends over to tie them. She is too distracted to notice it.

Then he walks towards the front door of his house, and stops to kiss his grandmother, who is sitting on a sofa waiting to caress her grandson. The grandmother smiles, and the boy moves quickly towards the door. Suddenly we hear a voice coming from the kitchen, and we see the boy’s mum leaning out of the kitchen door, waving a small lunch bag at him. The boy comes back a few steps to take his lunch; his attitude shows it’s not the first time he forgets.

Finally, he leaves the house. While heading downstairs, he passes by a cat and bends to stroke him gently. The boy exists the building, and once on the street greets the cat’s owner, his neighbour, with a smile.

We’re following him, walking alone down the main street, when suddenly there is a thunderous explosion. We see fire, and dust blasting in all directions.

The screen goes black.

From the black screen we come back to the beginning of our story, to the room, as if nothing has happened. We see how Ali repeats the same routine, but this time without making any stops. Over top all these scenes we hear a voice narrate:

V.O.: If this boy had packed his bag the night before.

If his sister had been wearing different shoes,

or he hadn’t forgotten his lunch.

If he hadn’t stopped to kiss his grandmother goodbye,

or the neighbour’s cat hadn’t been on the stairs.

The boy reaches the street, walks out, and there is silence. Suddenly he meets his friend, who tackles him, gently. Both kids run together towards the school entrance; they’re greeting their peers, when we hear the unmistakable sound of a plane rushing through the air above the school. In just a second there is a massive explosion at the school entrance.

Once more, all that’s left is dust.

We hear the voice over on top of the chaos generated by the bomb:

V.O.: The end of this story would have been the same.

Overtop this image of dust spreading in the sky, an overprint appears.

Overp.: In war there are no accidents. There are decisions.

Breaking the rules of war is always the wrong one.

ICRC. Respect #GenevaConventions.

therulesofwar.org.