Told from the perspective of the son of an ex-soldier, Estilhaços shows how the fury and destruction of the colonial war took over people’s bodies and daily lives, not only the men who returned but also their families. Pointing towards symptoms of post-traumatic stress, the film reveals how this trauma and its ghosts have been passed on to the next generation. José Miguel Ribeiro, one of the leading Portuguese animators, uses a range of animation techniques including real images. This howl of a film, filled with both beauty and fear, deals with one of the deepest wounds in Portuguese society and its connection with Africa.