Podul Peste Tisa

Bridges are built to connect people, unless it is forbidden to cross them. The towns of Sighet in Romania and Ukrainian Slatina are separated by the river Tisza. A recently rebuilt bridge is supposed to not only reunite the two towns but also bring back together friends and relatives who have been divided throughout history by various political decisions. The former bridge was destroyed by German troops in 1944. After WWII, the border was closed. For 50 years there was nothing but silence between the inhabitants of Romanian Sighet and the city of Slatina, which then belonged to the Soviet Union. The film documents the long, often absurd and eventually vain struggle of the local inhabitants and politicians to reconnect the two communities.

Director: Ileana Stanculescu