A documentary about post-war reconciliation in Kosovo presented through a journey in the country's railways.
Award-winning documentary about post-war reconciliation in Kosovo presented through the country's railways journey.Train of Freedom is a documentary that focuses on the meaning of tolerance for people who once were neighbors and friends but later became war enemies. The freedom of movement train travels from Kosovo to Serbia and back two nations once united under a country known as Yugoslavia, but that went to war due to ethnic tensions that plagued the Balkan region for decades. Leaving thousands of casualties missing and displaced over the years, the communities had to come to terms with their losses.
Since 1874, the train has traveled amazing journeys. At its peak, it transported passengers in luxury cabins on trips that stretched from Greece to Germany. During the war, dark times made their mark when nearly one million Albanians were driven away by Serbian forces who ran a campaign of ethnic cleansing, many of which were forced into packed train cars and taken to the border with Macedonia.
Today, the train aims to reconcile and integrate the different ethnic groups affected by the war. It is one of the very few places in Kosovo where Albanians, Serbs, Gypsies, Romas, and Ashkalis share a commonplace. Meet the people, hear their stories and learn firsthand the hopes and challenges of this new nation.
The film portrays passengers, conductors, ticket takers and workers who ride the train daily. These are the people that set an example of the hopes and challenges for the future Kosovar society.
Train of Freedom, is an open forum for the voices of all communities alike, seeking to explain the realities that deal with division, reconciliation and economic consequences.
