One hour drive from Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, everyone has to pass a strict border control, when leaving the “Free West” towards Belarus, “the last dictatorship in Europe”. Crossing this border is a time consuming and almost absurd performance. However, there are people who are confronted with this border on a daily basis, where the border literally cuts through their backyard.

What used to be a daily routine of paying a visit to relatives or friends, going to church or to the cemetery, has became a complicated process involving cross point schedules, visas and complicated bureaucratic procedures. A great example of forgotten 'European outskirts', the paradox of the free Schengen region which here is dividing communities, families and lives.

Dir. Anna Savchenko - 52min - 2021 - Belgium, Croatia, Norway, Latvia

"Lovely visuals of beautiful landscapes replete with fences and observation towers help make the point that just a few years ago these border villages were all part of the Soviet Union and that political changes have had a massive impact on the local population" - Business Doc Europe