During this year's Golden Apricot Film Festival, five films that were presented at the Istanbul Film Festival will be shown as well. They are part of the "Directors without Borders' project.

Below are excerpts of a talk I had with Gor Baghdasaryan, director of one of these films, a documentary called "Neighbors".

-What is the film "Neighbors" all about?

-The film deals with an Armenian village called Bagaran straddling the Armenia-Turkey border. To a lesser extent, the film also deals with the village of Khalikishlak on the other side. The film focuses on the life on one specific family and what they experience over the course of one year; from the winter of 2009 till 2010.

The main topic, naturally, is Armenian-Turkish relations, but seen through the prism of these residents. It was the year when there was the prospect of the border finally opening. There were negotiations and all.

It's about their expectations and fears; their desire or lack thereof for the much promised border to open.

The film delves into the psyche of the two peoples and about their stored memories. We also tried to show that which also unites the two peoples to a certain degree – similarities of culture and life style.

Alongside of the ties that bind, however, is a rabid enmity as well. We wanted to explore and see if such enmity can be healed or must it continue.

You answered my second question in a way. Much has been said about Armenian-Turkish relations. Before shooting did you think that by returning once again to this issue that you would somehow stand out with this film?

At first, we didn't want to get involved in the film. It's a film that was requested. In the beginning, when the film was proposed, the Norwegian Embassy in Russia contacted us, saying that they were particularly interested in the subject matter since it was more real and timely. In the end, the Norwegian Embassy became the main sponsor.

To be honest, as film makers the subject didn't move us all that much. It was constantly being written about in the press and on TV. Then too, we didn't know if such a film was even possible to make. What would we say that was new?

We then decided that if it were to be a short film, something interesting could be produced. That's when we decided to focus on one of the border villages.

-Why did you select the village of Bagaran?

-We started to tour the border villages. The decisive factor wasn't the situation in the villages but the people we met.

Narek, the boy who turns into the main character of the film, impressed us immediately. He was full of life and we chose to tell the story through his eyes.

We wanted a new twist on the subject of Armenian-Turkish relations, an issue that usually conjures up the image of the genocide. It's a subject that isn't usually associated with children.

So, in the end, you have a film dealing with a serious matter but which is also entertaining. It's a paradox of sorts.

The boy Narek embodies the mentality of the entire village in a unique way and the impression the locals have of the Turks on the other side of the border. But Narek is still young enough not to have been infused with all the traditional stereotypes.

Our original idea of shooting a 15 minute film was soon tabled because there was so much to film in the village. We were two months into the production when we heard about the Armenian-Turkish Platform in the Golden Apricot Festival. They also found out about the film we were making. We approached them with the film and it transformed into a joint effort.

We then proposed to go to the Turkish village and shoot there as well in order to have two simultaneous narratives going.

-Did you encounter difficulties while filming in Turkey?

-The Turkish organization collaborating with Golden Apricot really organized everything for the two months we were in Turkey. They had received permission from several ministries, the police and the Kars Regional Government.

But when they found out we had come to shoot a film, the problems began. They took us to the local military base and made it clear that we were in a military zone and that filming would be impossible.

This is why we were only able to film there for a day and a half. And we had found a boy around Narek's age who also struck us as an interesting character.

They urged us to leave as immediately as possible since, they claimed, we were violating the law. I guess they figured we had no clue that the area was off-limits, a military zone, so they merely issued a warning.

But they arrested us as we were crossing the border, charging us with having stolen the van. The court case lasted for two months before they found us innocent.

-The film premiered in Istanbul. What was the reaction of the audience?

-I'd venture to say that the showing was pretty successful. There was a mix of guest from the film world and average folk. The show sold out in two hours.

There are many concepts expressed in the film that at first glance may be perceived as contradictory and which oppose European standards of tolerance.

The main characters in the film are pretty open when it comes to expressing themselves because they are not concerned with being politically correct according to UN standards.

I was somewhat concerned that certain expressions and jokes used by the villagers wouldn't be well received in Turkey.

But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Turkish audience took it all in stride and understood it correctly. They understood that what the main character was saying, even stuff that could be perceived as insulting, were his own thoughts and not those of the writers.

They were able to differentiate humor and sarcasm from criticism.