When Michael von Graffenried arrived in Algeria in 1991, he had no idea what he was getting into. A civil war soon would erupt that left 200,000 dead, including many photographers and journalists.

Von Graffenried, a Swiss-born photographer, looked Algerian enough to blend into his surroundings, and an old-fashioned chest-mounted camera proved an asset in a society that didn’t look favorably upon picture-taking.

“I stole for seven years with a very bad conscience,” von Graffenried said of his clandestine art.

When his pictures became a book, some of his subjects approached him. They wanted to talk about the bloodshed they’d lived through and the effects the war had on their country and their lives. This time, von Graffenried and director Mohammed Soudani got it down on film.

The resulting work, “War Without Images,” will be screened at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Bank of the Arts in New Bern courtesy of the Craven Arts Council.

“The U.S. can learn from the problems of Algeria,” von Graffenried said, citing the latter country’s clashes with militant Islam as a precursor to 9/11.

But von Graffenried said he isn’t out to give any lessons.

“My photography opens doors and gets people together,” he explained.

More of his work will be on display at the Bank of the Arts from Friday to Oct. 28. The “Our Town” exhibit contains more than 30 candid photos von Graffenried shot during his four trips to New Bern.

“There are so many clichés in Europe about Americans,” he said. “We have to see what’s true or not true and we don’t do that enough.”

‘War Without Images’ to be screened Thursday