Across the Border - Five Views from Neighbours

ACROSS THE BORDER - FIVE VIEWS FROM NEIGHBOURS is an episodic documentary film about border experiences at the beginning of the 21st century. In a cinematic journey from north to south, the five celebrated Eastern European filmmakers Pawel Lozinski (Poland), Jan Gogola (Czech Republic), Peter Kerekes (Slovakia), Robert Lakatos (Hungary), and Biljana Cakic-Veselic (Slovenia) show their view and vision of nation, identity and Europe. At the border of so-called old and new Europe, differences in culture, mentality, tempo and life philosophy become visible. The border itself, intangible and invisible, is (re)staged and is thereby made tangible, making the people there into what they are and have to be: political exiles, asylum seekers, “freedom winners,” prostitutes, inspectors and spies, vagabonds and dealers, and fishermen in a border region. The Austrian production was led by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, the Joris Ivens special Jury Award winner in 2001 for his film ELSEWHERE, a cinematic journey through landscapes and mentalities, and a meeting with humans of all sorts. This time he lets the five directors create their own tale and atmosphere, but in a unique European documentary co-production.