LOGLINE

In Kosovo two nations fight for the same land.

Is there a way to reconcile? I take a journey to find out.

Synopsis

Strpce and Ferizaj are towns on the foothill of the mountain Sharr, in the southeast of Kosovo. First is a Serbian enclave, the second is a place where Albanians live.

People from these two neighbouring towns speak a different language and pray to a different god. The memories of the Kosovo war in 1999 are vivid. The border set between the two people didn’t resolve the conflict.

Twenty years after the war, tensions are rising again.

Beyond the border is a story about two towns sharing the same land but not the same destiny. I search for signs of reconciliation in a place full of antagonisms.

What makes a homeland – the land or its people? And if you were to choose?

Ana Otassevich

Laura Briand

Director’s Statement

The protagonists of the film come from both sides. Our relationship is a fruit of many visits to Kosovo I have conducted in a past few years. Immersive approach allows me to get close to them. I use narration in the film to expresses intimate reflections on the place and the people I meet. This storytelling method where my voice guides a spectator is also a way to connect the two sides.

The process of working on this film is self-transforming, and often leads to confronting the assumptions about the place and the people living there. I’m interested in the clash between the reality told by the media and the reality that I discover in the process of filming. The film should be a contribution to the process of reconciliation. Confronting the assumptions about the place and the people living there and moving from assumption to an appreciation of the reality is in the core of my approach to documentary.

Directors short bio

Ana Otasevic is a documentary filmmaker and producer from Belgrade living in Paris. She has specialized in documentaries with social and political impact. She worked for the BBC World Service and as a correspondent for international media from France. Her first feature documentary, NEDJO’S HOUSE (2016), was shown in festivals in France, Greece and Serbia and was broadcasted on French TV Public Sénat. In 2018, she founded a production company DARMAR FILMS to produce films with a strong personal voice. She writes for the French monthly Le Monde diplomatique. BEYOND THE BORDER is her second feature documentary. A French producer Laura Briand from Les Films d’Ici has recently joined the project. The project has been developed in 2023 European Social Documentary (EsoDoc) training programme.