Beyond the Horizon

A look at the concept section of the 61st International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, themed around war, borders and migration

Where do the boundaries of cinema end? This section demonstrates the power of cinema and its capacity to illuminate societal issues. These films, hailing from diverse regions, approach shared problems with an impartial lens, offering viewers a universal human experience. Furthermore, they depict the human struggle to transcend borders, whether it’s the footprints left behind by migrants or lives caught in the crossfire of wars. Each film tells a story that belongs to all of us—voicing universal pain or hope with a global resonance. Every frame invites us to see the world through another’s eyes

1. GREY BEES (2024)
Сірі бджоли 
Dmytro Moiseiev; Ukraine

“I can’t leave, this is my home.” In an abandoned village in Donbass, only Sergiich and Pashka remain. The story takes place in January 2022, and although the film is adapted from Andrey Kurkov’s 2018 novel, the unchanging reality of the “grey zone” between Russia and Ukraine seems as relevant today as ever.

There may be countless films about war and hundreds about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but what makes Moiseiev’s film remarkable is its focus on the psychological and emotional toll of war rather than showing the war itself. While the sounds of bombs rumble in the background, the camera’s attention remains on the unnoticed
details of daily life in the small village. Iron and fork; we never stray from the perspectives of the two characters as they anxiously await the inevitable. The director deliberately avoids focusing on the war itself, instead highlighting
the lives of the two villagers, a lone soldier, and the eerie, abandoned houses. The ghost village of Donbass is eerily cloaked in snow. The film moves in perfect harmony with life in Donbass, slowly counting the days, pressing forward towards the inevitable end despite the bombs.

Moiseiev’s third feature, Grey Bees, is a distinctive one, offering a unique technique and perspective in a world where war stories often overshadow the human experience.

2. SONG OF ALL ENDS (2024)
Giovanni C. Lorusso; Lebanon, Italy, France

Song of All Ends follows the life of a family of 6 living in the Shatila camp as a sequence of days when nothing happens. Gradually, amidst hardships and dreams, we discover that the family is mourning the loss of their youngest daughter, little Houda, after the Beirut harbour explosion of 2020. This loss will lead them to abandon all their possessions in search of a new beginning.

Dancing in the Rubble – Danse Macabre
The dance accompanying a song written at the end of the world is one of the few proofs that the characters are alive. Time, oscillating between reality and dream, has stopped here, at the very heart of the dystopia, but at the same time it moves slowly, compelled to flow.

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
Paul Gaugin’s painting of the same name (D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allonsnous?), created during his visit to Tahiti, was particularly influential in the development of the ideas behind the film Song of All Ends. The idea behind the painting of accepting everything and submitting to all thoughts is reflected throughout the film, as if everyone is somehow filling their time in a life that is passing by rather than being lived. The painting as a whole represents the cycle of ‘birth-sin-death’ from right to left, with the image of a little girl surrounded by kittens representing purity in the centre. The eternal search for the elemental, the contemplation of life in its various
stages, and the purity in the image of little Houda – which symbolises a life lost through an act of human indifference – are the basic building blocks of this drama, both fiction and reality.

We choose the beginning
But the end chooses us
And there is no other road
except the road

3. GREEN BORDER (2024)
ZIELONA GRANICA 
Agnieszka Holland; Poland, France, Czech Republic , Belgium, Türkiye

In the treacherous, swampy forests that form the so-called “green border” between Belarus
and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa, striving to reach the European Union, find themselves trapped in a cynical geopolitical crisis engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. As part of his provocation against Europe, refugees are lured to the border with propaganda promising easy passage into the
EU. In this covert war, the lives of Julia, a newly graduated activist who has left behind her comfortable life; Jan, a young border guard; and a Syrian family become intertwined. 

Thirty years after Europa Europa, three-time Oscar-nominated director Agnieszka Holland returns with Green Border, a poignant new feature film that opens our eyes, touches our hearts, and invites us to reflect on the moral
choices ordinary people face every day.

In the director’s own words: “We live in a world that demands great imagination and courage to confront the challenges of modern times. The social media revolution and artificial intelligence have made it increasingly difficult for real voices to be heard. To me, if one doesn’t fight for that voice, if one doesn’t fight to raise questions about the important, painful, and sometimes unsolvable issues that force us into dramatic decisions, then there is no point in pursuing art. The situation at the Polish-Belarusian border
exemplifies this perfectly.”

4. SONSUZ SINIRLAR (2023)
MARZHAYE BI PAYAN – ENDLESS BORDERS
Abbas Amini; Czech Republic, Germany

Director Abbas Amini weaves the story of individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures who converge in the same space. In his film, which had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival, he explores the notion of borders through cultural, social, and personal lenses, prompting viewers to question where boundaries truly exist. What unfolds at the edge of geographic borders when cultural divides are put to the test?

Endless Borders tells the story of a teacher living in exile. Defeated by life’s challenges, he has lost all hope and courage. However, the deep bond between two young people rekindles something within him, revealing the lack of love and bravery in his own life. When he offers help to a refugee family at the border, this encounter of people
from different cultures and perspectives turns his act of hospitality into a complicated and tangled situation for all involved.

In this narrative, where lives intersect and borders blur, Amini draws attention to the invisible barriers that both unite and divide us. His camera not only examines geographical boundaries but also probes cultural, social, and individual limits, challenging the audience to rethink where borders truly begin and end.

5. YAKAMOZ (2024)
Ali Kerem Gülermen; Türkiye

Reis and his family, originally from Kavala, and Dimitrios, a Greek potter, along with his family, who still reside in Gelveri, a town in Central Anatolia. Due to forced migration, both families are compelled to share the same home for a period of time. During this shared experience, the film delves into the lives of these two families, who come from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, raising questions about concepts like belonging and loyalty. Where is home? Where do I truly belong?

It sheds light on how decisions made between governments affect families, individuals, and their lives, offering a fresh perspective on the idea of nations, which emerged following the French Revolution. The forced migration of
people, categorized by various factors, from their birthplaces illustrates the profound impact of political ideas on human life.

As these families from different nations begin to coexist under the same roof, the film challenges the concept of nationality, examining it through the lens of the respect, love, and friendship they develop for one another—especially on the 100th anniversary of the population exchange. In his debut feature, director Ali Kerem Gülermen reminds us that, despite differing identities, we are all human at our core.

6. ÖMER (2013)
OMAR
Hany Abu-Assad; Palestine

Omar is accustomed to slipping past surveillance as he crosses the separation wall to visit his secret love, Nadia. However, life in occupied Palestine knows neither a simple love nor a clear war. On the other side of the wall, the sensitive young baker Omar transforms into a freedom fighter, facing painful choices about his life and masculinity. When Omar is captured following a deadly act of resistance, he enters a cat-and mouse game with the military police. Doubt and betrayal threaten the long-standing trust among childhood friends accomplices Amjad and Nadia, as well as Nadia’s militant brother Tarek. Omar’s emotions begin to fracture rapidly, much like the Palestinian landscape.

After its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section, Omar has also garnered a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 86th Academy Awards, along with
numerous other accolades.

7. SESİMİ DUYAN VAR MI? (2024)
IS ANYONE ALIVE?
Omar Elemawi; Palestine

Is Anyone Alive?, set amidst the ruins of a collapsed building in Palestine, tells a heartrending story of survival in the midst of war. After a bombing destroys a father’s home, he finds himself trapped beneath the rubble,
frantically searching for help to save his injured daughter. As he confronts the harsh realities of war, the line between hope and despair begins to blur, with time pressing forward like an unforgiving enemy.

Inspired by true events, this short film exposes how war shatters the lives of the innocent, highlighting a father’s desperate struggle to protect his family. Is Anyone Alive? is a powerful tale of silent screams, shattered dreams, and a father’s relentless will to resist against all odds.

 Nil Birinci