January 2007. I preview my short documentary on Frontiers, at the conference Territorial Management at the University of Bayonne. Thanks to Andrea Calderaro for the film editing.
On the 1st of January 2007, I wander about the villages of Arneguy/Arnegi on the French side of the frontier, and Valcarlos/Luzaide on the Spanish side, both in the Basque Country, and talk to three of its inhabitants. This is only a small peep into the life of these border inhabitants. I am conscious that there are many other and diverse experiences, and am sorry I did not manage to bump into some women and people of other age ranges who could also talk to me. That would be for a next project... Here, I discuss with three men the changes lived in the area, with the opening of the frontier as part of the European Union's Schengen agreement, and how the relationship between inhabitants on either side are sometimes close, sometimes distant, and often complex. One issue that currently divides them is a plan to construct a highway which would cut across the valley. Lifestyles and mentalities are also changing, And with it also the use of the local languages, Spanish, French and Basque...