Our 'Border Lines' Section

SUDAN, REMEMBER US

By Hind Meddeb

On a regular basis, five Sudanese artists in their twenties meet to exchange ideas. With their art, poetry and conversations, they fight against the oppression perpetrated by the Sudanese army. The film gives them a platform and shows how they have been working passionately for a better future since the 2019 revolution. An encouraging documentary with brutal and moving images, but one that paints a hopeful and positive picture of Africa.

LA LIBERTAD DE FIERRO

By Santiago Esteinou

For 40 years, César Fierro was wrongfully imprisoned. At the age of 63, he is suddenly released. The film follows his return to Mexico, where he struggles to establish a daily routine and build social connections. The presence of the film's director is the only source of structure in Fierro's life. An advocacy film that shows in a unique and touching way the consequences of a long imprisonment and the difficulties of reintegrating into society.

APOCALIPSE NOS TROPICOS

By Petra Costa

In Brazil, the percentage of evangelicals in the population has risen from 5 to 30 percent in recent years. Preachers from megachurches are waging a cultural war on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. This impressive and entertaining documentary shows how these fundamentalist agitators have helped the controversial President Jair Bolsonaro to rise to power in recent years, put faith on the political agenda and stormed parliament. A film about Brazil's political developments and the fragility of democracy.

ON FALLING

By Laura Carreira

Aurora, a Portuguese woman, works as a warehouse operative in a distribution centre for an online giant in Edinburgh, Scotland. Caught between the monotonous daily routine in the anonymous warehouse and the loneliness of her small flat, she is in danger of withering away in isolation and becoming estranged from herself. This touching and moving film portrays Aurora's struggle to maintain human connection in the algorithm-driven big economy and to avoid losing herself in the age of digitalisation.

THE INVASION

By Sergei Loznitsa

With this film, Sergei Loznitsa continues the chronicle of his homeland, Ukraine. Following his epic film MAIDAN, he returned to the country, now devastated by the Russian invasion, and captured the daily life of its people over the course of two years during this difficult period. THE INVASION is a film that pays tribute to the resilience of Ukrainians in the face of the immense suffering they endure every day. In this second film, Loznitsa creates a monumental portrayal of a nation fighting for its freedom and survival.

DEATH WITHOUT MERCY

By Waad Al-Kateab

This documentary uses cell phone videos, images from surveillance cameras, and news reports to meticulously reconstruct the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, focusing on two victims and their families. The collage shows how the catastrophe catapulted the population into a state of shock, while at the same time it sparked an inexhaustible will to survive. The film also takes a critical look at the Turkish government, which allowed the construction of buildings that were not earthquake-proof and had no emergency plan, as well as the failure of the UN, which hesitated to criticize Erdogan's government.