STRANDZHA

Synopsis

Nestled by the Black Sea, the Strandzha Mountains hide the rugged borderland between Bulgaria and Turkey in one of Europe's last primeval forests. One of the continent's oldest border zones, it was a passageway for those fleeing East Germany's communist regime and seeking to escape from West to East during the Cold War. Today, hundreds risk their lives every day to travel from east to west along alternative Balkan routes. Centuries ago, the Thracians settled in this liminal space between Asia and Europe. In honour of their ancestors, the locals continue to celebrate mysterious, intoxicating feasts. The earth seems to hold both intergenerational trauma and spiritual power, where past and present collide. In this terra incognita, deeply religious fire dancers, seekers of meaning, former soldiers scarred by violence, children playing in abandoned military barracks and mentally ill women engage in ancient rituals and personal struggles. At the crossroads of traditions, generations, borders and languages, the film paints a multifaceted portrait of the human experience on the border - and raises the question: What do these physical and mental divides do to us?