STEP ACROSS THE BORDER

Step Across the Border is more than just a film title- it's also a command, made by the filmmakers, to move beyond what binds us into the freedom they create onscreen. Through a collage of improvised music and sound, emerges a fascinating discussion of the nature of music making. Filming in black and white they take us on a rhythmic journey through various metropoles from Tokyo to New York melding electric guitars, telephones, train tracks and puddles into a glorious medley of sound. Just as musicians generate improvisations from each other so too the filmmakers collaborate and intuit the moments represented onscreen. Sometimes starting to film in the middle of the night in response to a flash of inspiration.

Voted a "film of the year" by Cahiers du Cinema, Step across the Border features, amongst others, the diverse talents of Fred Frith, John Zorn, Arto Lindsay, Ciro Battista, Joey Baron, Jonas Mekas and Robert Frank. A symphony of sound and movement creates an orchestral sense to the rhythm and formation of things, film is created as a musical arrangement. As the directors put it themselves: "it is the moment that counts" and the combined impact of music and images reveals a picture at times tragic or comic but always beautiful.

Awards: European Film Award 1990; Hessian Film Award 1990; Grand Prix International "Images&Documents", Figuera da Foz 1990; Best Documentary Film, Uppsala 1990; Innovative Cinema Prize 1991; Quality Award EDI, Switzerland 1990; Golden Film Bobbin Coil, Weingarten 1991; Golden Gate Award and Special Jury Award, San Francisco 1991

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