From the Neisse to the Soča: the Neisse Film Festival comes to Gorizia

Friends who – like us – create cross-border film stories are coming to Gorizia: among the festival guests will be the Neisse Film Festival, which on Thursday, 9 October 2025, will take part in the professional meeting of the festival network At the Centre of the Margin (10.00–12.00, Palazzo del Cinema – Hiša filma, Gorizia). In the afternoon, they will present the film Mauerhase (Rabbit à la Berlin, dir. Bartek Konopka, Piotr Rosołowski, 2009, 50’), with the participation of Lindi Dedek, curator of their short film programme and member of our international jury in the First Crossings section.

The Neisse Film Festival, held every May at the meeting point of Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland, is unique thanks to its location: the screenings take place across more than twenty venues in three countries, creating a distinctive atmosphere of cultural interplay and connection. The festival offers audiences fresh feature films, documentaries, and short films from Eastern Europe, along with a rich side programme of exhibitions, readings, and concerts, making it one of the most vibrant cross-border film events in the region.

Mauerhase (Rabbit á la Berlin), r. Bartek Konopka, Piotr Rosołowski, 2009, 50' 

“Rabbit á la Berlin” gives a unique perspective on German division and reunification: through the eyes of rabbits once living in the Berlin border zone. For them, the Wall was not a symbol of oppression, but a shield against predators. While the death strip meant danger for humans, it became their safe haven until the fall of the Wall ended their fragile idyll. A poetic parable on isolation, freedom, and the unforeseen consequences of political change. Presented as part of this year’s Neisse Film Festival in the program section “Crossing Borders.”