In Svilengrad, a small town on the Bulgarian border, Veska crosses paths with Said, an old acquaintance whose car has been stolen. Offering her help, she brings him along to the excavation site where she is working as an archaeologist. As they reconnect, Veska is drawn deeper into the shady world Said has emerged from. Involved in illicit dealings, he is repeatedly in conflict with local criminals. As figures from her own past begin to close in, Veska embarks on her own exploration of the criminal ties lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly innocent town on the outskirts of Europe.
"The border has some kind of an attraction as a genre. It's some adventurous space we know from literature and films, and we have these fantasies about smuggling, hiding refugees, but at the same time it's a very real and concrete one, where a lot of things happen – good things and bad things." (Valeska Grisebach)
Valeska Grisebach
Born in 1968 in Bremen, Germany. Before undertaking directing studies at the Film Academy Vienna, she studied German and philosophy in Berlin, Munich and Vienna. In 2002, her graduation film, Be My Star, won the main prize at the Turin FF and the FIPRESCI Prize in Toronto. In 2016, she worked as a script consultant on Toni Erdmann.