BORDER

At the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, shortly after the undeclared war of the early nineties, two men find a buffalo stuck in a ditch. They pull the animal out and bring it to their village, a farming community high in the mountains. From there, “Border” (Armenia 2009) by the Armenian director Harutyun Khachatryan tells of everyday life after the war – from the buffalo’s perspective. It seems to sense what is happening around it and keeps trying to escape; but there are barbed-wire fences everywhere, and its keepers bring it back every time. The farm’s other animals also meet the newcomer with mistrust.

Khachatryan dispenses with dialogue entirely. The film was prompted by an incident the director experienced himself; the buffalo’s story becomes, for him, an image of the tragedy of the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict and of the mistrust running through the societies of the post-Soviet region. “Border” was shown in 2009 at, among others, the International Film Festival Rotterdam. That same year, the film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin.

Shown at the 2009 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2009 · Film Archive