Two Steps from the Baltic to the Adriatic

Director, Screenplay, Cinematography: Jan Mozetič
Editing: Neli Maraž
Camera: Urban Košir
Sound Design: Dean Stojčič, Ivan Antić
Production Manager: Robert Drekonja
Post-production: Fabris Šulin
Translations: Luka Pieri
Narration: Anita Kravos
Producer: Mateja Zorn
Production: Kinoatelje

Year: 2023
Duration: 72 minutes
Languages: English, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovenian

Synopsis

Two Steps from the Baltic to the Adriatic is a documentary that unfolds the stories of four personalities who revitalized the cultural landscapes of Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, and the Slovenian-Italian Littoral during the period between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This multicultural, surprising, and tragic world also offers insights into our present times.

Produced by Kinoatelje, the film is part of the European project Let’s Meet, which focuses on enhancing the societal and educational value of European cultural heritage through the use of new media. The project involves partners such as Kolegium Europy Wschodniej (College of Eastern Europe), Kinoatelje – Gorizia and Nova Gorica, ALDA (European Association for Local Democracy) – Strasbourg and Brussels, NARA – Vilnius, and Szépírók Társasága (Hungarian Writers’ Association) – Budapest.

The program is funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union and the Foundation for the Development of the Education System.

Director’s Statement

In this film, I aimed to visually convey the fluidity between cultures, time, and the wounds that have shaped the stretch of land from the Baltic to the Adriatic. The waning certainties of the late 19th century find balance in encounters with otherness, triggering unexpected shifts. These gestures and actions have the power to transform individual fragility into works of art, a kind of dance that creates a new reality. Utopias come to life, even if only for a moment. A crazy reaction—sometimes dangerous but, in my view, necessary. The world is given to us as children, but as adults, we must create it.