Award-winning director James Bluemel said he decided to hear the human stories of the conflict he grew up hearing about on the news.
Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland gives voice to the people who lived through the Troubles, sharing intimate stories from all sides of the conflict.
Set to air on BBC Two, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on Monday 22 May, the five-part documentary combines unfiltered personal accounts with archive footage to tell the story of the people who had to live with violence daily - and are still dealing with its legacies today.
Read more: New BBC series to examine extraordinary stories from Troubles
James Bluemel is widely known for his acclaimed documentary Once Upon a Time in Iraq recounting the lead up to the Iraq War and its consequences for the Iraqi population.
James explained that hearing stories from the conflict there created connections in his head about an island just across the water from home.
He said: "The civil war was a particularly cruel time in Iraq. Hearing stories from Iraqis of how their friendships, families and neighbourhoods were ripped apart by sectarian killings made me think about a sectarian conflict which was much nearer to home.
"Northern Ireland was always on the news when I was young - bombs, violence, murder and pain seemed to be ever present there.
"As an adult, I might have understood the broad politics behind the events, but after my conversations with Iraqis, I realised I had no idea how anyone in Northern Ireland really felt about what it was like living through that turbulent history. I had been exposed to the politics of the conflict, but I had not heard the human stories from those that were there.
"Just after lockdown restrictions had lifted, I found myself in Belfast, meeting the first contributors that would feature in a new documentary, Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland."
Heading into the process of filming for the series, James was concerned he would be asking contributors to remember things "cemented in their minds".
"For some, the events we would be talking about were over 50 years ago, and over time, memories can become staged in their retelling. I needn’t have worried.
"One of the first interviews we did was with Kate Nash, whose brother, Willie Nash was one of people shot dead by the paratroopers on 30th January 1972 – on Bloody Sunday.
"As we talked at length about her life growing up, I felt that memories that had been neglected began to resurface.
"By the time we arrived at that fateful day in 1972, Kate spoke eloquently, with genuine emotion and anger as she recalled what happened and how she felt," he explained.
"Any concern I had about these recollections feeling rehearsed vanished as Kate sat in front of me, processing her feelings, and conjuring up buried emotions.
For anyone wanting to know why they should watch Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland and what makes the series different from any other documentary covering the conflict, James ensured that the human side of the real stories were the focus of the narrative.
He continued: "Everyone we spoke to has first-hand accounts of the events they recall, and some expressed to us that now, with the passing of time, they are able to speak more openly and freely than before.
"While history is made up of big stories, it is understood best when we can hear the small, personal details.
"Michael McConville remembering the day his mother, Jean, was taken away and murdered by the IRA felt like an important historical story to include in the series.
"The trauma of this eventon Michael is evident, not just in the way he talks but also the way he holds himself, his body displays the pain he feels.
"The trauma of those years can be consuming and was present in nearly everyone I interviewed."
Michael's daughter Bronagh was also interviewed as part of the series to understand the generational impact of events that happened decades before she was even born.
"I discovered something that I hadn’t understood before. Through Bronagh, Jean McConville stopped being a woman confined to the past, only seen staring out of the one grainy black and white photograph that exists of her.
"Through her granddaughter, Jean transcended out of the confines of an historical account into the here and now, as the past collided with the present.
"It was a profound and powerful moment for me to see her through Bronagh’s eyes."
Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland airs BBC Two, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on Monday 22 May
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