Echoes from Borderland
Documentary | 70 minutes | 2024 | Germany | completed
a film by Lara Milena Brose
Just 140 Years ago no visa was required to enter any country. With increased border controls came discrimination. Today, each year more than 1 million people try to cross borders illegally, many of them fleeing war and persecution. Nahid, a determined 15-year-old girl from Afghanistan is stranded in the Bosnian border town of Velika Kladuša, where she meets Ferida, a 67-year-old Bosnian widow struggling with her own war-scarred past. Slowly, Nahid discovers that the cycle of war and loss connects her to this place at the fringes of the European Union in unexpected ways. The two women begin to recognize the echoes of their own losses in each other's experiences.
ECHOES FROM BORDERLAND brings the stark realities of the EU's external borders to life through the eyes of a young Afghan girl, allowing audiences to viscerally experience the injustice of displacement without the need for complex explanations. It is crucial that the film finds a wider audience, particularly in Europe, as it personalizes the European Border crisis, transforming abstract news into tangible, emotional experiences. By connecting viewers with the human stories behind headlines, it fosters empathy and urgency, compelling European citizens to demand more compassionate policies from their leaders, especially in the context of the upcoming European Elections in June.
LARA MILENA BROSE studied philosophy and theatre dramaturgy and has been studying documentary film directing at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) since 2018. Her last documentary film SURVIVE was longlisted for the 95th Academy Awards (Oscar) and won the main documentary prize at the CamerImage Film Festival 2021.
Contact
World Sales / Sales Agent in discussion. Please contact us:
Thomas Slatter & Felix Sommer (Producers Rep.)
producers@sommer-slatter.com
We will happily send you a press kit upon request!
Team
Director & Producer: Lara Milena Brose
DoP: Natalia Mamaj & Lili-Rose Pongratz
Editors: Aora Halmzadeh & Boris Gavrilović
Filmschool: University of Television and Film Munich (Prof. Karin Jurschick / Line Producer: Monika Wöhrl)
Festivals
Filmfestival MAX OPHÜLS PREIS 2024, Germany
Winner "Best Documentary"
CIVIS MEDIENPREIS 2024, Germany
Winner Young C. Award
DOK.fest Munich 2024, Germany
Official Selection
Neisse Film Festival 2024, Germany
Winner Audience Award