{{ mainName }}

{{ newsTitle }} {{ newsVisible ? '✦' : '✧'}}

    • New Talents Open Call
      Eastern Neighbours Film Festival (ENFF) began in The Netherlands in 2008 with the idea to offer Dutch and international audiences a unique glimpse into the cinema of their neighbors from Eastern and Southern Europe. This annual event presents the most recent, exciting, and thought‐provoking films, from countries with small, but often powerful film industries, that… Read more: New Talents Open Call
    • ENFF 2023 On Demand!
      Unable To attend the festival in person? No problem! From November 27th to December 3rd, we’re thrilled to bring you a curated selection of this year’s films available for online viewing! Catch our captivating Opening Film Ivan’s Land, or the touching Closing Film Seventh Heaven. Or explore a collection of shorts from the New Talents Competition! Follow along… Read more: ENFF 2023 On Demand!
    • What’s up in Slovak Cinema? A conversation with Monika Lostakova
      We talked with Monika Lošťáková about contemporary Slovak cinema.
    • ENFF and the Eastern European Film Festival Network!
      The Eastern European Film Festival Network brings together five film festivals dedicated to promoting and showcasing Eastern European cinema, alongside one partner organisation.
    • Masterclasses
      Through these masterclasses we approach two memory in film from different angles: memories from a personal or collective recollection through archive material.
    • Work in Progress
      In Work in Progress, emerging filmmakers and artists will present their works in development to the audience and engage in discussions with Dutch experts.
    • Festival Timetable Available!
    • Check out the catalogue for our 2023 edition!
    • Music at ENFF
      Every year, ENFF brings special musical guests who bring beauty to the program and further represent the rich cultures of their countries to a Dutch audience.
    • Film Marathon
      Join us for the Film Marathon, a new concept in which we merge two components, Short Films, Big Stories, and New Talents Competition into a whole-day screening of short films!

I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me

DirectorToma Chagelishvili
ProducerStefan Kloos, Toma Chagelishvili, Victoria Kavzharadze
WriterToma Chagelishvili
EditorAnna Lamazashvili
CameraKakhaber Mshvidobadze
ScreeningFriday 11 November at 21:15 hours
Year2015
Length75 min
CountyGermany, Georgia
SubtitlesEnglish
SectionDOCUMENTARIES OPEN DEBATES: Docs Talk

An amazing story from today’s Georgia. Neighbours and families are suddenly separated by a wire fence along the internationally unrecognized border of South Ossetia. Dutch Premiere

SYNOPSIS

An absurd and almost unbelievable life story. Since the end of the Georgian war in 2008, the villagers of Churvaleti know that they are living on a border. Russian patrols started putting up barbed wire fences on an internationally unrecognized border line. Families and communities got divided. The barbed wire fence
runs right through the village. Every other hour border patrols pass by and arrest anyone who comes close to the fence. In spite of this menace, the villagers find ways to stay in touch with their relatives and friends across the line. Life goes on, but will it ever be the same again?

Een verbazingwekkend verhaal uit het hedendaagse Georgië: buren en gezinnen worden plotseling van elkaar gescheiden door een hek langs de internationaal niet-erkende grens van Zuid-Ossetië.

VERHAAL

Een absurd en bijna niet te geloven levensverhaal. Sinds het einde van de Georgische oorlog in 2008 weten de dorpelingen van Churvaleti dat zij op een landgrens leven. Russische patrouilles begonnen prikkeldraadafzettingen op te zetten op deze internationaal niet-erkende grens. Families en gemeenschappen raakten verdeeld. De afzetting loopt dwars door het dorp. Elke uur patrouilleren de grenswachten, die iedereen arresteren die in de buurt van het hek komt. Ondanks deze dreiging zoeken de dorpelingen naar manieren om contact te houden met hun familie en vrienden aan de andere kant de grens. Het leven gaat door, maar zal het ooit nog hetzelfde zijn?