More and more people take the ‘Balkan route’, aiming to escape the hostilities in their countries of origin and reach the European Union. The documentary Logbook Serbistan of Želimir Žilnik portrays the harsh reality of the life of refugees in Serbia: Since Hungary has closed its borders, many get stuck in Serbia. How is the reception of refugees arranged in a poor country which is still recovering from a war crisis itself.

The film is part of the Eastern Neighbours Film Festival and focuses on the adversity of the people that have stranded in Serbia. While for most of them their main goals is to arrive in the European Union, they find themselves forced to adapt to life in Serbia. With his incisive documentary Žilnik enables the viewer to identify with these individuals and their daily struggles.

About the Speakers

After the film we will have a talk with Toon Lambrechts and the volunteers of the Vluchtkonvooi.

Toon Lambrechts is a freelance journalist. For the journalistic platform MO* he took the course of the Balkan route and wrote several articles for the Balkan dossier.

De vluchtkonvooi (the flight convoy) consists of five friends who decided themselves to go to Hungary to help refugees in transit. On the 11th of November they come back from their third trip and they will share their experiences and findings with us. 

About the Festival

The 2015 edition of the ENFF is going to be held in The Hague from the 4 – 14 November. The most recent and exciting films from East and South East Europe, mainly countries that are not yet members of the large EU family, are shown. Why Eastern Neighbours? The ENFF strives to get the Dutch and international audience in the Netherlands acquainted with the cinema and culture of their eastern neighbours.