“Between Borders” is a drama about the Armenian Petrosyan family, who flee ethnic violence in Azerbaijan and later fight for asylum in the United States. The film’s strength lies in its human story about the difficult fate of Armenians and their situation during the communist era and shortly thereafter.

Ivan Petrosyan, an Armenian rocket scientist, and his wife Violetta, a school principal, live in Baku as ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan. Anti-Armenian violence gradually escalates in their neighborhood: their daughters are expelled from school, calls to “kill Armenians” appear on the streets, and eventually, gunmen shoot and kill an elderly man in their apartment building.

A neighbor helps the Petrosyans by claiming that the family is not at home and left a week ago. Ivan realizes that the family cannot stay, and that very night he flees Baku with Violetta and the children.

In Russia, they arrive at their new home, but the discrimination continues. Violetta must secure a job by allowing herself to be humiliated, while Ivan faces threats with a knife and public humiliation in front of his daughter.

During this time, the family becomes involved in a local church community founded by American missionaries. Ivan and Violetta, originally shaped by a communist environment, gradually embrace the Christian faith. The church provides them with a community, support, and a new sense of purpose.

The film unfolds primarily as a retrospective reconstruction during the family’s asylum proceedings in America. The prosecutor questions why the family decided to leave Russia as well, since they were not formally in immediate danger of losing their lives there.

Drama

USA, 2025, 90 min

Titles in other languages: Between Borders

Directed by: Mark Freiburger;

Starring: Elizabeth Tabish, Patrick Sabongui, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ana Ularu, Michael Paul Chan, Stelio Savante, Gabriel Spahiu, Adrian Titieni, Marius Chivu;

Parents Guide:
1x zastrelenie človeka. 1x božekovanie. Žena 1x vyznáva vieru v komunistickú stranu pre jej obrátením. Muž rozpráva ako verí v rôzne veci, ale Boha nespomenie. Školáčka v krátkej sukni. Terorizovanie muža zo strany policajtov. Mužovi sa vyhrážajú s nožom v ruke traja iní muži. Vyzdvihovanie v jednom prejave pomýleného symbolu Sochy slobody a sebadeštruktívneho systému demokracie.

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