Alliance of International Production Houses

Two films, two enquiries into borders: In the 35-mm film triptych “Großraum (Borders of Europe)”, Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan explore the landscapes of European border regions. Precise compositions document checkpoints in Hrebenne between Poland and Ukraine, in Ceuta, a small Spanish exclave on the Moroccan mainland, and in Lefkosia/Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus, which lies between Greek southern Cyprus and Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. Slow, almost contemplative shots gently capture daily life and geography along these heavily guarded borders. The poetic imagery of the film, the colours and patterns of the landscape, the rhythms of the people’s movements contrast with European border politics, the harshness of which the film is equally able to capture.

The video piece “Peninsula Tour: Express” by Korean artist Boyong Kim is a (dis)continuous journey from the South Korean city of Seoul to the Chinese city of Dandong, which borders on North Korea. Where the body is prevented from travelling further by borders and North Korean isolation policy, technologies such as Google Earth enable connections into a world where time and space are fragmented. The tour through real and virtual worlds leads to an unexpected encounter with a traveller who was born in West Germany before the fall of the Wall and visited North Korea many years later. This encounter opens up reflections on today and questions the promises hidden behind terms such as freedom, reunification and globalisation.

duration: 90 min.
language: English