After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kaliningrad became a Russian exclave, completely surrounded by the European Union. The region has a beautiful natural environment, with a long peninsula between the Baltic Sea and the huge Curonian Lagoon. Although the birds and other animals freely and intensively use this area, strict borders separate the Kaliningrad Oblast from its European neighbours.

Andrey is an ornithologist from Kaliningrad Oblast, for the last twenty years, has been working and living at Rybachy Biological Station, close to the Lithuanian-Russian border.

Just like the birds, Andrey wants to cross borders more open with his research. That’s why he initiated an important international project to find out what size of territory the bird perceives as his "home". Therefore, he needs the collaboration of the Ventė ornithological station, just a few dozen kilometres away at the Lithuanian side of the border.

But communication between the Soviet Union and Lithuania seems to have ceased after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The political tension between both countries grows each year and the border is getting more difficult to cross. Furthermore, Lithuanian ornithologists stay very sceptical towards Russians. The Lithuanians constantly mention they work better, catch more birds,…

As the experiment unfolds, Andrey has to fight the prejudices and bureaucratic apparatus of both countries and most importantly, to gain the trust of Lithuanian ornithologists.

Dir. Vytautas Puidokas - 52min - 2021 - Norway, Croatia, Belgium, Lithuania

"poetic...this region boasts beautiful natural surrounds, and birds and other animals cross this area freely, despite the heavily guarded borders separating Kaliningrad Oblast from its European neighbours" - Cineuropa