SYNOPSIS

Close to the Black Sea lie the Strandzha Mountains – a rough spot in Bulgaria and one of the oldest border areas in Europe. During the Cold War, people tried to escape from GDR-communism from west to east. Today, hundreds of people risk their lives every day to get from east to west on one of the alternative Balkan routes. Centuries ago, the Thracians settled in this grey zone between Asia and Europe. In memory of their ancestors, the locals celebrate mysterious, intoxicating feasts. The earth seems to hold transgenerational traumas as well as spiritual powers.
The film approaches this last primeval forest in Europe, made up of soldiers, deeply religious fire dancers, sense seeker, traumatized children and mentally ill women. In this terra incognita the protagonists immerse themselves in ancient rituals and their own business practices. At the crossroads of traditions, generations, countries and languages, a multifaceted image of the border unfolds as a deeply human gesture, raising the question of what these mental or even manifest dividing lines do to people.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Borders in themselves have something open, weightless, which cannot be described and defined - a form of canyon, a way out, an end, before something new comes. Borders are everywhere - they are not a question of topography, but of faith. What fascinates me about Strandzha is the presence of the most diverse borderline experiences. Here the subject matter becomes multi-layered and fascinating. After over 27 years abroad in Germany, the distance has opened my eyes to my old homeland Bulgaria. I myself am a border crosser between cultures, East and West, rural and urban. I look for niches where customs and practices are passed on from one generation to the next and outlast social change. My inner conflict, the being torn between closeness and distance, home and foreign, love and loathing, is my narrative drive for this film and will create a true rush of images. Everything is intense - I look, smell, feel and observe. The land does not let go of me, I lose myself and find myself again. It is as if the mountains were to embrace me and at the same time hold me captive. It feels like being on an inner border, attracted by the darkness and uncertainty of what lies on the other side.
Intertwining the stories told through the protagonists the overall course of the film describes a narrative arc that makes it clear that the seemingly fixed boundaries that determine our thinking and our everyday life are negotiable and that change is ultimately the central constant.

SCREENINGS

IFF Rotterdam 2025 (world premiere)

Feature documentary
95 minutes | Germany & Bulgaria 2025

starring NEDJALKA RADEVA, TATJANA LILOVA, TATJANA KIRILOVA, KORNELIA DIMITROVA, AYSEGÜL NEDJIB, STOJNA HARITEVA, SIJKA IVANOVA, ROSSITSA KOLEVA, PANAJOTKA PANAJOTOVA, MARGARITA MARINOVA, KRASTINA DUCHEVA, DEYAN OVCHAROV, GEORGI KIROV, ZDRAVKO TODOROV, GEORGI STOYANOV, ALEKSANDAR STOYANOV, EMIL MINEV, GORAN STEFANOV, MARIA IVANOVA, NEDELCHO KARAGENOV, ZLATKA JANEVA, BOJANA CHOBANOVA, MILKA, a.o.

author & director PEPA HRISTOVA cinematography DANIEL SVILENOV montage FRANZISKA VON BERLEPSCH music NIKA SON dramaturgical collaboration HERBERT SCHWARZE sound recording ALEXEY TSVETANOV, VESELIN ZOGRAFOV sound design KRIS JAKOB, NIKA BREITHAUPT sound mix ROMAN VEHLKEN colors & mastering TIM LIEBE title graphics LAURA KLIMMECK

assistant director IVO LEONKEV assistant editor YASAMAN SEYEDAHMADI drone operator ALEXANDER MAKEDONSKI delta planing EMIL KIRILOV translations DANIEL SVILENOV, MILENA APOSTOLOVA subtitles MAYA CONNORS, JUTTA DOBERSTEIN

producers Germany FRANK SCHEUFFELE, KARSTEN KRAUSE & JULIA CÖLLEN producers Bulgaria MARTICHKA BOZHILOVA, NEDA MILANOVA editorial BERND SEIDL

a production by FÜNFERFILM and AGITPROP in co-production with SWR/arte

funded by BKM, MOIN FILMFÖRDERUNG HAMBURG SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, EURIMAGES, BULGARIAN NATIONAL FILM CENTER