Borders

The Right Girls(en)

In this documentary about friendship and perseverance, three young transgender women from El Salvador and Honduras go on a 2,400-mile journey with the high-profile migrant caravan. These women, strangers at the outset and fleeing extortion, discrimination, and abusive relationships, endure hardship as they slowly make their way to the US, teaming up with other trans girls along the route and integrating with the caravan’s LGBTQ community.

Blaha und Blüten(de)

A Hero's Death(de)

It was the biggest escape in the history of the Berlin Wall: in one historic night of October 1964, 57 East-Berliners try their luck through a tunnel into West Berlin. Just before the last few reach the other side, the East German border guards notice the escape and open fire. Remarkably, all the refugees and their escape agents make it out of the tunnel unscathed, but one border guard is dead: 21-year-old officer Egon Schultz.

Lyon-Turin : Le Dernier Tunnel XXL(fr)

Gaza(en)

GAZA brings us into a unique place beyond the reach of television news reports to reveal a world rich with eloquent and resilient characters, offering us a cinematic and enriching portrait of a people attempting to lead meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial conflict. Throughout its entire history the Gaza Strip has been witness to conflict and upheaval. From ancient times this tiny coastal territory, located at a crossroads between continents, has been a pawn whose fate rested in the hands of powerful neighbours.

Common Ground(en)

An internet personality journeys to his hometown on the border between Texas and Mexico to visit family members, only to discover that his family’s immigration story parallels that of people risking everything to immigrate to the U.S. today.

Borderless(en)

Lauren Southern investigates what is really happening at Europe’s borders. From interviews with human traffickers in Morocco to secret recordings of illegal NGO activity in Greece, Borderless will blow the European Border Crisis wide open.

The Border Crossed Us(en)

With a visual style that alternates between intimate verité moments, meditative reflection and suspenseful sequences, the film tells the story of Chief Ramon Gonzalez, detective Manuel Casas and officer Mayra Garza, as they navigate the complexities of their existence on the US/Mexican border.

Borders(sl)

24 October 2015, a nice day in autumn in a nice landscape. A crowd of refugees and migrants accompanied by soldiers and police officers make their way from the Schengen border between Slovenia and Croatia towards the refugee camp in Brežice. Suddenly, the landscape starts to appear less nice than it was.

Bus(lv)

This documentary follows a bustrip from Tallinn to Kaliningrad. A route that was so common in the Soviet times now passes through 4 different countries and crosses 3 different borders.

Option Zero(es)

There are countless stories of Cubans reaching their dream destination of Florida as boat refugees. A lesser known route to the United States starts with a flight in a ramshackle plane to Guyana. Then the refugees travel to Colombia where they cross the jungle to arrive in Central America, from where they hope to reach the promised land of America—a hard and dangerous journey. Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltrán visits them in a refugee camp in Panama, where one of the residents gives him an idea. Many people here have filmed their journey, she says, and these videos tell their real story. These jerky, shocking videos are interspersed with Beltrán’s footage of the camp, tangibly illustrating the difference between the hectic pace of the journey and the insecure life at the reception center.

Notes about identity(es)

Which Way Home(en)

Follows unaccompanied child migrants, on their journey through Mexico, as they try to reach the United States.

The Valley(fr)

As thousands of migrants attempt to cross the French-Italian border on foot through treacherous mountain routes, the state cracks down on the local communities that come to their aid in this revealing look at an unfolding human rights crisis.

The 800 Mile Wall(en)

"The 800 Mile Wall" highlights the construction of new border walls along the U.S.-Mexico border as well as the effect on migrants trying to cross in the U.S. This powerful 90 minute film is an unflinching look at a failed U.S. border strategy that many believe violates fundamental human rights.

Before Our Eyes(sv)

One inside, one outside. One thin line that creates “us” and “them”. The importance of the borders has again a huge impact in Europe. Yesterday it was all about free movement. Today it´s about controled borders. And walls and fences have become normality. “Before our eyes” is a testimony that shows a situation where Hungary, and indirectly Europe closes itself to the outside world. The film portrays four places, four events, which was filmed over three days in early September 2015, when the worst refugee crisis we have seen since the Second World War started in earnest. “My Europe does not build walls!” said Stefan Löfven, the swedish prime minister, in a speech a few days later. Before our eyes shows how words and actions are no longer connected. Today, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, the UK, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria have built fences and walls to strengthen theirs and Europe’s external borders.

A 3 Minute Hug(es)

As daylight breaks between the border cities of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, undocumented migrants and their relatives, divided by a wall, prepare to participate in an activist event. For three minutes, they’ll embrace in no man’s land for the briefest and sweetest of reunions.

The In Between(en)

Following the death of her brother, filmmaker Robie Flores returns to her hometown Eagle Pass on the Texas/Mexico border, wanting to turn back time. She collides with unruly experiences of adolescence – quinceañeras, Rio Grande river excursions, teen makeovers and beyond – that invite her to soak up the details of the home her brother adored and she ignored. What emerges is a playful dance between a personal and collective coming-of-age portrait of kids on the border and Robie herself as she rediscovers the possibilities of joy in the aftermath of grief.

Birders(en)

Bird watchers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border share their enthusiasm for protecting and preserving some of the world's most beautiful species.

Refuge(e)(en)

Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-profit prison for months on end without having committed any crime. Thousands more like them can't tell their stories.