Red Dot Media

For years, Russia has been trying to rebuild its empire. The hybrid war doctrine introduced by Putin in 2013 assumes attacking Western countries without declaring war. The invasion of Ukraine made us lose our sense of security. A pair of documentary filmmakers from Poland set off on a journey to look for answers to the question about the threats that may face Central and Eastern Europe.

A true story of a 17 going on 18 year-old boy called Modris. He’s a guy who goes to school, has a girlfriend and some good friends. He has a small gambling addiction, which makes his relationship with his mother difficult. It’s also hard because the two of them live alone and the mother doesn’t miss a chance to remind him that his father is in prison and that Modris has a bad gene. Their relationship boils over when, in the middle of a Nordic winter, Modris pawns his mother’s electric heater in trying to squeeze a win from a slot machine. She betrays him to the police and Modris is sentenced to two years’ probation. That is when his adventures with the Latvian justice system begin and he sets a new goal: to find the father he has never met.

Who am I when no one is around, Sabine asks when she is alone. The young woman’s life changes when falling in love leads to a personality crisis. She seeks peace and refuge by running away from her everyday life and hopes for new changes, but is instead forced to confront her inner self and play the role of victim that she is so familiar with. The message here speaks about the radically different perceptions of women and men regarding the world, which they can only understand by sharing and cooperating with each other.