Beyond Borders
(Maya Talitha Rivera, 2026)
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
As a filmmaker from the Philippines who has spent four years in the UK, this project stems from a deeply personal necessity. Leading the International Students’ Forum at Lancaster University, I was constantly surrounded by an incredible, vibrant community of students from all over the world. Yet, day after day, I watched the media and university boardrooms reduce us to mere numbers. International students are highly valued for our money, but completely invisible as human beings.
Witnessing the quiet struggles, isolation, and resilience of my peers is what inspired this documentary. I wanted to move away from statistics and look behind closed doors.
Working alongside a close peer crew of fellow international students, we built a space of absolute trust. This film captures the raw, unscripted reality of our shared journeys: the heavy burden of a time-zone disconnect, the sting of racial hostility, and the deep longing for a home oceans away. This project is a collective testimony and a heartfelt act of defiance. It is my attempt to reclaim our voices, proving that we are not just budgetary solutions, but individuals who deeply belong here.
This film is produced as part of my practice-based dissertation project.
SYNOPSIS
Behind the £40 billion statistics of UK higher education are the quiet, overlooked lives of the students who pay the price. While universities lean on international fees to survive a national funding crisis, the students themselves are left to navigate an increasingly unwelcoming political landscape.
This documentary steps inside the private lives and experiences of international students at Lancaster University. Moving away from statistics and news headlines, the film captures the raw, unscripted reality of what it means to study abroad today: the weight of isolation, the sting of subtle and overt racism, and the quiet resilience of a community bracing itself against a transactional world.
This documentary steps inside the private lives and experiences of international students at Lancaster University. Moving away from statistics and news headlines, the film captures the raw, unscripted reality of what it means to study abroad today: the weight of isolation, the sting of subtle and overt racism, and the quiet resilience of a community bracing itself against a transactional world.
CAST & CREW
DIRECTOR: Maya Talitha Rivera
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Yolly Tung
CO-PRODUCERS: Maya Talitha Rivera & Yolly Tung
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Ann Chiang
INTERVIEWS BY: Maya Talitha Rivera & Yolly Tung
INTERVIEWEES
Owen Gitonga
Lancaster University Film Student from Hong Kong
Lancaster University Engineering Student from Nigeria
Maya Talitha Rivera
SOUND OPERATOR: Ziyang Lin
GAFFER, CAMERA & PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Max Bickerton
BTS PHOTOGRAPHER: Ziying Lu