After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a decades-long territorial dispute exploded in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as its largely Armenian population fought against countless military campaigns from the Azerbaijani army. Shot over the course of three eventful years, which culminated in the surrender of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government in 2023, Alexis Pazoumian’s haunting documentary harnesses the collective turmoil that dominated generations of Armenians. From the elderly to the very young, the community are united by an unwavering sense of pride, one that carries them through never-ending bloodshed and displacement.

The film opens with the harrowing sight of a bombed-out school in the small village of Talish, where childlike innocence contrasts with wartime trauma. Samvel and Avo, two preteen boys, roam through the wreckage and scavenge for remains of past normalcy, like the scattered notebooks left behind by their former classmates. The threat of the enemy, however, is drilled into every aspect of their daily life. At school, they learn how to assemble guns, and at family gatherings, they join in songs that speak of heroic valour. That the children here – boys and girls – will grow up to become soldiers is a foregone conclusion.

Pazoumian’s film, however, steers clear of nationalist ideologies to lay bare the human cost of conflict. In one early scene, we see twentysomething Armenian recruit Erik performing energetic somersaults in his military uniform. Later on, the once-beaming young man returns from the frontline a shadow of his former self, having lost a leg. Still, Erik regains his optimism as he undergoes physical therapy and rehabilitation; his resilience, too, is a kind of cultural inheritance. Though the film could have been enriched by more detailed sociopolitical context, the emotional weight of such scenes makes it a profound work of remembrance.

• The Black Garden is on True Story from 4 September.