DokuFest and the Scottish Documentary Institute announce the alumni filmmakers selected for the Breaking Borders residency programme.
Four filmmakers from each country will explore diverse perspectives, fostering meaningful creative synergy. Guided by experienced mentors Saeed Taji Farouky and Kumjana Novakova, they will develop their film projects inspired by the theme Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World.
This collaboration merges DokuFest’s dynamic platform in Southeast Europe with SDI’s global expertise, creating an innovative initiative to nurture emerging filmmakers and foster cross-cultural dialogue. The partnership reflects a shared vision: to empower filmmakers as storytellers and agents of change. It aims to bridge the gap between the UK and the Balkans by fostering creative collaboration and addressing pressing societal issues through documentary filmmaking.
Breaking Borders is a joint project implemented by DokuFest and the Scottish Documentary Institute, funded by the British Council.
Meet the Scotland-based filmmakers selected for the programme:
RIAD ARFIN
Riad Arfin is an award-winning Bangladeshi filmmaker living in Scotland. He has a passion for poetic yet thought-provoking cinema. His film A Border Between Us has been screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Doc NYC, winning best short film award at the UK Asian Film Festival, 2024.
MERAY DINER
Meray is an award-winning director working on creative and participatory documentaries exploring land, water and environment and the themes that emerge from them with women’s perspective challenging gender roles, parenthood and representation. Her film Pink Moon focuses on intergenerational trauma in a family from the post-conflict community of Cyprus.
HUSS
Huss is an Arab artist based in Glasgow, driven by a passion for storytelling through film, performance, and moving image. His work explores displacement, memory, and resistance, blending personal and political narratives to highlight urgent issues facing the Arab world. With international screenings and experience programming for film festivals, Huss’s art sparks meaningful conversations and challenges dominant narratives.
EOIN WILSON
Eoin documents people and communities in resistance: a Basque miscarriage of justice; firefighters on Mexico City’s margins; police violence and forcible disappearance; armed, indigenous defence of land. Eoin has lived in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Mexico, Ireland and Scotland, and he is currently completing a documentary-based PhD on resistance to organised violence in Mexico.
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