In October 1992, after 16 years of war, presidents of the two opposing parties in Mozambique signed a peace accord in Rome, which resulted in lasting peace in the country. 'From the Ashes' looks at the role of ritual cleansing ceremonies in the country’s post-war reconciliation process. It is set in a small village in the south of Mozambique and follows people who fought on both sides of the war. The characters have different belief systems and different philosophies. They show their private ways of reconciling their past, partly through ritual, partly through personally developed philosophies; through living their lives in the present and working towards their futures. This film was part of an initiative of the Southern African Communications for Development (SACOD) and formed part of a series on Reconciliation in Southern Africa entitled “Landscape of Memory”. It was produced in Mozambique by Joao Ribeiro (Cinelandia) and broadcast on SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) TVM (Televisão de Moçambique) and NBC (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation).