Director Kurt Langbein and author Robert Menasse travel along the Austrian borders and document the influence these borders have had on the lives of the people living in those regions – then and now.

Borders are a political reality and at the same time a complex metaphor. Pushing boundaries is an adventure, overcoming boundaries a challenge – sometimes an essential for survival. Opening borders creates euphoria, but open borders can evoke fear. Europe without borders is an old dream for many, but for others a new nightmare. 

In this film, author Robert Menasse travels to the borders of Austria and the EU. He encounters border crossers, border guards and border residents, those who profit from borders, those who overcame them heroically and those who fail because of them.

On the journey along the borders it becomes apparent: when borders are opened, they do not disappear and when they do disappear they have merely shifted. Culture and mentality are consequences of drawing up a border – not the other away around. And in order to truly overcome borders, it takes extraordinary people.