A missing boy, a cover-up, and customs officers who discover their humanity has limits.
During a random check, the commander of the Czech Customs Unit notices that there are immigrants in the back of a van. In the turmoil that followed, a minor is injured while trying to escape into the forest. The officers scatter the woods to look for the boy who managed to escape. Their aim is to find him and cover up the event. When the child's father refuses to cooperate, the incident becomes insurmountable and the officers start to mistreat the refugees. It is a fairly harsh short film about human emotions and views against immigrants.
Direction
Relentless handheld camera traps you with the officers
Acting
Mitaš's silent breakdown speaks louder than dialogue
Editing
29 minutes that feel like a suffocating eternity
Director
Damián Vondrášek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during Europe's 2021 border crisis, the film deliberately echoes real Czech-German border incidents where officers were investigated for violence against migrants.
Vondrášek cast actual refugees as background performers; Raed Farhat's improvised Arabic dialogue in the father's refusal scene was kept after it reduced crew members to tears.
CZ
