Those Who Dare
The foreign minister of the tiny Icelandic nation fights for the independence of the Baltic states as they struggle to brake free from the USSR.
Three small nations by the Baltic Sea, then long forgotten in the minds of the West, were the first countries of the Soviet block to restore their independence as the USSR collapsed in 1991. Facing military suppression during their independence struggle and no support from the major democratic powers of the west, help came, unexpectedly, from two small nations: Iceland and Denmark.
An avid supporter of the Baltic states, Icelandic foreign minister Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson not only lent his voice to their cause in the international political arena to which the Baltic representatives were not admitted, - he also stood by their side in the streets of Vilnius when Soviet tanks invaded the Lithuanian capital. His struggle is at the core of this film, along with that of several individuals who carried the heaviest weight of bringing down the Soviet empire.
Three small nations by the Baltic Sea, then long forgotten in the minds of the West, were the first countries of the Soviet block to restore their independence as the USSR collapsed in 1991. Facing military suppression during their independence struggle and no support from the major democratic powers of the west, help came, unexpectedly, from two small nations: Iceland and Denmark.
An avid supporter of the Baltic states, Icelandic foreign minister Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson not only lent his voice to their cause in the international political arena to which the Baltic representatives were not admitted, - he also stood by their side in the streets of Vilnius when Soviet tanks invaded the Lithuanian capital. His struggle is at the core of this film, along with that of several individuals who carried the heaviest weight of bringing down the Soviet empire.
Scarecrows
Our goal is not to scare people. Rather our goal is to scare birds so that they are not able to scare us. In other words, it's an actual job – to understand those birds and animals that might approach, are approaching or are already here living in the territory of the airport in order to make sure that their paths don't cross with those of the airplanes. The leading roles are played by airplanes and birds. And the special zone. From the point of view of the airplanes it is an airport, where they take off, land, and take on passengers. For the birds, however, it is a wide, fl at and clearly visible territory where they fl ock together, rest, and eat. And Mareks is in the middle. Every day he has to keep a close eye on the zone and do everything in his power to ensure that it is a safe space for the airplanes. If one day Mareks were not to do so, the zone would become the domain of the birds.
Company of Steel
The story in this film describes the truth about trauma experienced during the war and what it does to a human condition. It reveals that it's so much more than extreme pain to the physical, mental and emotional body.
Unable to go back to the life as they lived before, it forces to find meaning and to coin a new identity, because the old one is not enough to handle everything that happened.
The film has three protagonists, code names 'Shakhta', 'Dancer' and 'Potter', all part of the same regiment. The main arena is the Russia-Ukrainian War and one of the most important events was the Shyrokynske offensive operation, where the protagonists suffered losses that changed them forever. It's very important to realize that they aren't professional soldiers, they were volunteers with no military experience, who just wanted to serve their country. This film shows how a normal, non-military person, like us, went through such a horrifying experience.
The storyline of Dancer talks about post-traumatic growth, how a man can be shattered down and rebuild himself stronger, to serve others. Shakhta's is a story of becoming a businessman in a profession that reveals to be an atonement, out of the guilt of surviving, while others didn't and perhaps even because of him. And Potter's fight is about desperate attempt to prevent the war from taking his free, joyful spirit away. He is cling to his innocence, which the loss or change of him is yet to confront.
We follow them during their military operations and continue when they come back home, to the world that didn't change, not as much as they did. They are different people now, and they struggle to find themselves in the world that just doesn't understand how it is to have seen the violence, to follow precise objectives day after day, to make peace with their own death and to feel the pain of losing brothers in army. Nobody can empathize with their shame of living on, while their friends will remain forever on the battlefield.
Unable to go back to the life as they lived before, it forces to find meaning and to coin a new identity, because the old one is not enough to handle everything that happened.
The film has three protagonists, code names 'Shakhta', 'Dancer' and 'Potter', all part of the same regiment. The main arena is the Russia-Ukrainian War and one of the most important events was the Shyrokynske offensive operation, where the protagonists suffered losses that changed them forever. It's very important to realize that they aren't professional soldiers, they were volunteers with no military experience, who just wanted to serve their country. This film shows how a normal, non-military person, like us, went through such a horrifying experience.
The storyline of Dancer talks about post-traumatic growth, how a man can be shattered down and rebuild himself stronger, to serve others. Shakhta's is a story of becoming a businessman in a profession that reveals to be an atonement, out of the guilt of surviving, while others didn't and perhaps even because of him. And Potter's fight is about desperate attempt to prevent the war from taking his free, joyful spirit away. He is cling to his innocence, which the loss or change of him is yet to confront.
We follow them during their military operations and continue when they come back home, to the world that didn't change, not as much as they did. They are different people now, and they struggle to find themselves in the world that just doesn't understand how it is to have seen the violence, to follow precise objectives day after day, to make peace with their own death and to feel the pain of losing brothers in army. Nobody can empathize with their shame of living on, while their friends will remain forever on the battlefield.