As soon as the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961, it became a symbol of the Cold War and the separation of two worlds. 20 years after the fall of this “invisible iron curtain,” what happened to this immense and scarred region of Europe?
Directors Dominique Maestrali and David Desramé reflect on the situation that emerged after the “Iron Curtain” collapsed and show how two social landscapes, having been apart for long time, got reunified and brought together again families, neighbours and peers. This transformation confronted the people with new perspectives, even great hopes, but also caused a habit of mutual reservation and diffuse distance. “The Invisible Iron Curtain” analyses that situation in the way of telling stories about the people who lived along the curtain and those who still live there feeling that the social coherence is stigmatized by a somehow sceptic sentiment.
The intention of the film is to travel those 7500 kilometers from Stettin to the Balkans on each side of the former border to meet its population and to search for their aspirations and impacts for the future of Europe.
Directors: Dominique Maestrali & David Desramé
Co-Producers: Calisto Productions, Les Ateliers du Doc, LCP Assemblée Nationale, Image Plus
Year: 2009
Length: 52 minutes / 90 minutes
Languages: English, French
Partners: CNC (French Film Board), Maison de l’Image Basse-Normandie
Broadcasters: Rai Stonia, ViaSat
Special Jury Prize
Erasmus EuroMedia Awards 2009
English