The Insides of Our Lives is a poetic hybrid documentary that weaves fiction with found footage. Drawing from thousands of hours of archival material - primarily 8mm home movies - the film tells the coming-of-age story of two girls growing up along a European border. As the border slowly begins to divide them, the story subtly explores what it means to come of age in a world where fences suddenly appear, separating people into an 'us' and a 'them'. Though composed from fragments of hundreds of different lives, the footage is assembled so that it feels like the intimate, singular memory of one person.
Misja Pekel
Misja Pekel is a Dutch documentary filmmaker with a background in refugee law. After working in the field for several years, he transitioned to filmmaking to explore social and political issues through a visual and personal lens. His documentaries, made for the Dutch public broadcaster HUMAN, have been selected for international festivals and have received awards. Pekel frequently uses found footage to enrich his narratives, and his work continues to center on themes of displacement, identity, and borders. Driven by a deep curiosity and empathy, he aims to reveal the inner worlds of those at the margins.
