BORERLANDS
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SYNOPSIS 'Borderlands' brings together six characters whose lives are defined by personal and political borders, from across the Indian subcontinent. Through conversations and observations, the characters reveal their efforts to find meaning in a world beyond their control. Divided families meet, love blossoms across borders, traffickers get caught – in this slice of life documentary. |
Samarth Mahajan is a non-fiction filmmaker, passionate about telling human stories from India that remain invisible to the mainstream. ‘The Unreserved’, his national award-winning debut feature about passengers of the third class in Indian Railways, premiered at Film Southasia 2017 and received broadcast & theatrical releases in India. ‘Kazwa’, his short documentary on sustainable rural tourism through fireflies, won awards at multiple international film festivals. |
Awards
‘Best Editing’ in the Non-Feature category at the 68th National Film Awards 2022
Jury Award for Best Documentary at the DC South Asian Film Festival 2022
Special Mention in the documentary category, at the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart 2021
‘Goes to Cannes’ Award at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum 2020 – consequently featured as a work-in-progress project at Marché du Film 2020
Press
"A sharply observant, illuminating cinematic essay"
- Saibal Chatterjee, The Tribune, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/samarth- mahajans-documentary-looks-at-lives-shaped-by-indias-borders-267763
"Gets so close to the protagonists, they tell of their wishes, longings, broken hearts & strokes of fate"
- Emily Thomey, WDR (German), https://www1.wdr.de/radio/cosmo/magazin/netzwelt/borderlands-100.html
"A sharply observant, illuminating cinematic essay"
- Saibal Chatterjee, The Tribune, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/samarth- mahajans-documentary-looks-at-lives-shaped-by-indias-borders-267763
"Gets so close to the protagonists, they tell of their wishes, longings, broken hearts & strokes of fate"
- Emily Thomey, WDR (German), https://www1.wdr.de/radio/cosmo/magazin/netzwelt/borderlands-100.html