Borderline (1930 film)

Borderline
Directed byKenneth Macpherson
Written byKenneth Macpherson
Produced byThe Pool Group
Starring
CinematographyKenneth Macpherson
Edited byThe Pool Group
Release date
  • 1930 (1930)
Running time
63 minutes
CountrySwitzerland
LanguageSilent film with English intertitles

Borderline is a 1930 film, written and directed by Kenneth Macpherson and produced by the Pool Group in Territet, Switzerland. The silent film, with English title cards, is primarily noted for its handling of the contentious issue of interracial relationships, using avant-garde experimental film-making techniques, and is today very much part of the curriculum of the study of modern cinematography.

The film, which features Paul Robeson, Eslanda Robeson, and H.D., was originally believed to have been lost, but was discovered, by chance, in Switzerland in 1983. An original 16mm copy of this film is now held in the Donnell Media Center, New York City Public Library. In 2006, the British Film Institute sponsored the film's restoration by The George Eastman House and eventual DVD release with a soundtrack composed by Courtney Pine. Its premiere at the Tate Modern gallery in London attracted 2,000 people. In 2010, the film was released with a soundtrack composed by Mallory Johns, performed by the Southern Connecticut State University Creative Music Orchestra.