When production company Mistrus Media approached Latvian director Kārlis Lesiņš about making a film on the so-called “Nord Express,” the new high speed rail line supposed to link the Baltic states with central and northern Europe, he was initially sceptical.
“They [Mistrus] had already received funding for development and they were looking for a director who had the skills and interest for this project,” the filmmaker says of the documentary (which is being pitched this week at Sunny Side Of The Doc).
“It’s so…bureaucratical!” Lesiņš remembers his first, wearied response to the idea of untangling the story behind the Rail Baltica project – to give the venture its official name. “Then, when I started to dig deeper, I realised that, although this project looks very nice and clean, actually there are lots of problems it is facing right now.”
The Russians were wary about the Baltic states growing too close to the west. As Lesiņš notes, railway communications going east from the Baltic toward Russia are in generally good condition.
“Russia would like to keep this…this is only probably my personal opinion but maybe there is some economic reason or geopolitical vision for Russia that if we destroy the former railway connection, it means we also destroy the former political connection as well. Which then means there is nothing that connects us [in the Baltic states] to Russia, only history. ”
The Chinese were also trying to influence events, he says. Meanwhile, NATO hinted that the rail line was an important part of its military project. This could be a cheaper, faster way to transport tanks and other equipment if it was needed. After all, roads and bridges in the Baltic states are often in a poor condition.
“All this stuff made the project very attractive to me. When I started to approach people, I suddenly realised there was some miscommunication, some facts which don’t really match.”
As the delays and expense mounted, it dawned on the director that this railway line might eventually become the Baltic equivalent of Berlin’s long delayed Brandenburg airport, which, as CNN acidly noted when it finally opened last autumn, was “nearly a decade behind schedule, 4 billion euros over budget” and was starting life in the middle of a pandemic which had “crippled” the airline industry.
The new railway line was greeted with “high expectations” and huge optimism when it was first announced but, as the director puts it, this “super great project had suddenly started to fall apart.” It is turning into “something you are trying to finish but just can’t – not only because of money but because of planning, inner conflict and all this stuff.”
Ask Lesiņš how far along he is with his film and he sighs, sounding like a passenger on a very lengthy journey. “Somewhere in the middle,” he says. The filmmakers shot last summer in Estonia. They’ve also been filming in their native Latvia, “which is easier for us.” However, more daunting challenges lie ahead.
“Now we are going to Lithuania which was kind of hard to arrange, not only because of Covid but because the Lithuanians are a bit more suspicious about what we are doing. Everybody knows that Lithuania is a little bit more protective about their own railway and about all their own cargo.”
Building work on the new line has continually been delayed. There are hints of skulduggery: for example, allegations that local NGOs in Estonia supported by Russian intelligence are lobbying against the scheme – and trying to shift public opinion in the process. This, though, is hard to prove.
For Lesiņš, the challenge is how to make such an embroiled and complicated story, spanning so many countries, into a coherent and dramatic feature-length documentary, accessible and enjoyable for a general audience.
“For me, it was important to make the story a little bit more personal so people watching it can identify with somebody,” the director explains why he himself has decided to go in front of camera. “I’m one of the main characters, representing this average person who knows this construction is going on; who knows there might be this railway connection which connects Riga with Berlin but they don’t know anything else. I am trying to make it very simple.”
Lesiņš’ technique is to ask question after question. That way, he hopes to get answers revealing why everything is delayed, why the costs have soared, and what the Russians and Chinese are really planning. “So far, there is no need for a hidden camera or being secret about something,” he says. The Rail Baltica countries have been open with him as they try to prove that “everything is legit.”
“You have to understand, this is a unique project, the first time the Baltic states are all together. It is very expensive. Of course, local people…you see they don’t have experience or education to deal with this. But then, if you think with how much money they are operating…you are getting a little bit worried!”
