How much pain and how much life make up the existence of people in the Middle East? In this film—shot over a 3-year period along the borders separating Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, and Lebanon—Gianfranco Rosi gives voice to a human drama that transcends geographical divisions and calendar time, illuminating with encounters and images of the daily life that lies behind the continuous tragedy of civil wars, brutal dictatorships, foreign invasions and interference, and finally, the murderous apocalypse of ISIS. The film was selected in the main competition of the 77th Venice International Film Festival.