Border Lines: These films transcend boundaries

Eine Collage aus vier Bildern: eine Gruppe, die um einen Laptop herum diskutiert, eine lächelnde Frau mit Stirnband im Freien, eine Person, die in der Abenddämmerung zwischen kahlen Bäumen steht, und eine Gruppe in weißen Gewändern, die an einem felsigen Flussufer steht.

Each year, the Zurich Film Festival showcases six feature films and documentaries addressing human rights and contemporary social and political issues in its «Border Lines» section. This year's selection includes powerful films such as THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA, and PROMISED SKY.

From September 25 to October 5, 2025, the ZFF's «Border Lines» section will showcase powerful socially engaged cinema that encourages reflection on global challenges. This year, the spotlight is on films that explore inequality, oppression, and resistance. These films aim to unveil, question, and overcome borders. «Border Lines» is presented by the EurAsian Heart Foundation.

The complete program for the 21st Zurich Film Festival will be published on the website on Thursday, September 11, at 12 p.m. Ticket sales will begin Monday, September 15, 2025.

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB by Kaouther Ben Hania

Vier Personen versammeln sich dicht um einen Mann, der ein Telefon in der Hand hält und besorgt und konzentriert schaut. Eine Frau hält ein anderes Telefon in seine Nähe, während andere sich vorbeugen und aufmerksam zuhören. Sie scheinen ernst und in eine Diskussion vertieft zu sein.

On January 29, 2024, Palestinian Red Crescent employees receive an emergency call from Gaza. Six-year-old Hind Rajab is trapped in a car that has been hit by Israeli forces and is begging for help. As they try to keep the girl on the line, the employees do everything they can to save her. Using a mix of reenacted scenes and original audio recordings of the emergency call, director Kaouther Ben Hania recreates the tragic events of this rescue attempt. With its unflinching look at the fate of a child during war, this film rises above mere reportage to give audiences

2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA by Mstyslav Chernov

Eine Person steht zwischen den Silhouetten toter, blattloser Bäume in der Abenddämmerung, mit einem blauen und orangefarbenen Sonnenuntergangshimmel im Hintergrund.

In the middle of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, filmmaker and journalist Mstyslav Chernov accompanies a platoon of soldiers on their mission to liberate Andriivka from Russian occupation. The fiercely fought-over village is ringed by landmines and can only be accessed through a small forest. Positioned within the troops, the film crew fights its way forward for over 2,000 meters under constant fire and emotionally charged conditions. Following his Oscar-winning documentary, 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, Chernov returns with another powerful work using live footage to draw attention to the senselessness and horrors of war.

PROMISED SKY by Erige Sehiri

Eine Frau mit natürlichem Haar und einem rosafarbenen Stirnband lächelt sanft, während sie vor dem Hintergrund eines klaren blauen Himmels zur Seite schaut.

Three women migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa share a home in Tunisia. They take in Kenza, a four-year-old girl who survived a shipwreck. Amidst social tensions and everyday discrimination, a remarkable sisterhood emerges, with each woman striving to build a new life for herself. In her third feature film, director Erige Sehiri devotes herself to a story rarely told: Not of escape to Europe, but rather of the lives of migrant African women in their own continent – lives that are suffused with pain, hope, and solidarity.

GIRLS & GODS by Arash T. Riahi und Verena Soltiz

Eine Gruppe von neun Frauen in weißen Gewändern und Blumenkronen steht an einem felsigen Flussufer, wobei eine Frau in blauer Kleidung und mit einer Blumenkrone im Vordergrund steht. Im Hintergrund sind Bäume, Wasser und Gebäude zu sehen.

Can women's rights and religion coexist? Inna, an activist with the group FEMEN and a critical voice against religious institutions, embarks on a personal journey to explore this question. She meets female priests, rabbis, imams, theologians and atheists, initiating an honest dialogue about faith, power, and emancipation. Through these exchanges, she addresses the question of what it means to be a religious woman. In this many-layered film, directors Arash T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz tackle with courage, intelligence, and authority one of the most complex issues of our time.

HUMAN RESOURCES by Nawapol Thamrongrattanaritt

Eine Frau mit Pferdeschwanz schaut aus einem Fenster, während zwei andere Personen unscharf im Hintergrund stehen. Die Szene scheint sich in einem Büro oder einem Innenraum mit weichem natürlichem Licht abzuspielen.

Fren works as a Human Resources employee in a large company in the heart of Bangkok. In her daily work she observes how unfairly the company, with its hierarchical system, treats its employees and reduces them to mere cogs in the machine. What no one knows is that Fren is pregnant and asking herself if she wants to bring a child into a world where exploitation and constant friction are the order of the day. Tightly orchestrated, HUMAN RESOURCE asks how much responsibility we have for one another in a world in which humanity is systematically suppressed.

LOWLAND KIDS by Sandra Winther

Eine junge Frau in einem rosafarbenen Tank-Top sitzt auf einem Boot und schaut nachdenklich in die Kamera, während ein junger Mann mit einer Mütze unscharf neben ihr sitzt. Im Hintergrund sind ein Fluss und Bäume unter einem bedeckten Himmel zu sehen.

Since the death of their parents, Howard and Juliette have grown very close to each other. Together with their Uncle Chris, they live on Isle de Jean Charles, a narrow strip of land in the Deep South of the USA, surrounded by rising waters. In 2021, Hurricane Ida destroyed almost all the houses on the peninsula, forcing the residents to flee. Since then, the authorities have been working to relocate inland the community as their world continues to sink into the sea. LOWLAND KIDS captures a unique landscape with stunning images and portrays the lives of climate refugees in the southern United States.