Synopsis:

In 1948 nearly thirty thousand Greek and Macedonian children were taken from their homes and dispersed to orphanages throughout Eastern Europe. Eventually, political exiles were allowed to return to Greece-with one condition: They had to be Greek by birth. Consequently, many Macedonians were never able to return to their homeland, never allowed to reunite with their families.
Fifty years later, some of these exiles reunite in hopes of visiting the place of their birth. This film follows the men and women who came from all over the world to revisit their homeland. After waiting nearly five hours on the Greek border, 75 people are allowed in. The rest, including those holding Australian and Canadian passports, were turned back.
Next Year in Lerin is a film about journeys—from the painful separation of babies and children from their mothers and fathers to the journey they take back as adults to their homeland. The film also captures a metaphorical journey, as these wanderers revisit the land of their dreams—of the villages from where they were uprooted, of the past that they can never reclaim, of the too few memories they have of their families. Though the mountain villages have fallen into decay, these Macedonian 'children' are compelled to visit the villages that still capture their imaginations. Their pilgrimage is captured in this film of a bittersweet reunion with the past.