Having the same surname is only one among many coincidences in our friendship :) We (Sona Kocharyan & Marine Kocharyan) first met at the table of discussion about borders worldwide. Sharing the same image and feelings on the topic, step by step we came to the stage of making this film.

We are the co-authors of the film

Sona Kocharyan- 

I got my MA in Journalism in Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. For the last year I have been freelancing as a photographer and multimedia journalist to Yerevan magazine and web imyerevan.com.

Marineh Kocharyan- 

I got my MA in Yerevan State Theatre and Cinema Institute, in the faculty of cinema art. At the moment I'm working as a scriptwriter and film director in Shoghakat TV- a spiritual and cultural TV company in Armenia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Georgia negotiated and clarified the biggest part of the border, yet a small part of it remains not demarcated. On this part of the border there are several villages, only one of them on the Armenian side,  though all of them are inhabited by Armenians. Jiliza, Chanakhchi and Agkherpi are our destinations.

For years, when there was no border issue, people on both sides used to have close relationship with each other. Only several years ago the border control was strengthened. In spite of the border remaining non-demarcated, there is strong control on it. Moreover, there is no sign for people to realize where the lands of their villages start and where they end. Now the only thing people dream about is to have a check-point which would allow people to go from one village to the other one beyond the border. Crossing the border illegally leads to huge fines and even imprisonment.

 Lusine is a little girl living in Jiliza village on Armenian side. For people living there the border is a small stream separating their village from Chanakhchi, the nearest village on Georgian side in the distance of only 1 km. Yet, for getting there they have to cross 100 km instead.

Lusine is trying to understand the absurdity of the situation. The problems connected to the border accompany her, her family members and her neighbors every day.

It was about 6 years ago she last saw her grandparents. A trip from one village to the other costs money and time, that not every villager can afford. Lusine has been saving money for getting a passport without which she cannot cross the border. She is impatient about her trip to find the reality 1 km away, 100 km close.

In total we need 3200 USD that will be spent on:

Equipment rental

 Car rental

If  you like our project but cannot donate, still there are some ways you can help us:

    .  Like us on Facebook

     . Share our campaign with your friends

    . Send your positive energy to us :)