''Brothers of the Borderland'' is a 2004 film directed by American filmmaker Julie Dash. The film is on display as an immersive film experience at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Plot

''Brothers of the Borderland'' tells the story of a female

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

who escapes to freedom with assistance from John Parker, a free black man, and Rev. John Rankin, a white minister. The 25-minute-long film features narration from

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

and displays in an immersive, experiential theater. The film takes place on the

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

border and features a crossing of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Cast

as Narrator

Critical reception

The '' Cincinnati Enquirer'' described the film as a "full sensory experience" inside a "tree-lined 'environmental' theater where fog rises from the floor and 'bullets' whiz by."

References

2004 films Films about American slavery Films set in Kentucky Films set in Ohio {{2000s-US-film-stub