Where We’re Not

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, independent journalism inside Russia was almost destroyed by the state. Many media teams and journalists found themselves scattered across Europe and the post-Soviet republics. How do they now structure their lives? How to work in a profession directly tied to the land? Is it the motherland that threw them out, or did they abandon it? What is next?

Filming location was in several countries where a significant part of the Russian emigration had gathered: in Latvia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan.

In the center of the film are 10 characters, all of them reporters, their work was firmly, inevitably tied to the ground or, as journalists say, “the field.” Having left the country, they found themselves essentially alienated. The conversations with the reporters form a polyphonic dialogue. How do you relate to the people who were semi-violently mobilized for the war in Ukraine? Where do you need to be right now – in Russia or outside it? What is your maximum willingness to take personal risks?