Nordexpress

LV/DE 2024, 52 min, Karlis Lesinš

‘Nord Express’ is a documentary in the tone of a detective film about the construction of a 870 kilometres long high – speed railway line that started with a dream to connect the Baltic States to rest of the Europe when in 1991 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence from the Soviet Union.

Filmmaker Karlis Lesinš becomes a ‘citizen-investigator’ and goes on the road to find out why after 30 years and with only few years before the intended launch of the Rail Baltica railway line, the construction of this EU funded project is significantly behind the schedule, over the budget and may never be finished at all.

Karlis follows the trail of Rail Baltica project, trying to get the answers - what has happened and what is happening? Traveling through all the involved countries, he meets officials, military personnel, investigative journalists, people whose land will be expropriated, employees implementing the project and potentially benefiting entrepreneurs, who open up to him with their versions of the story.

There are also lots of rumors and theories. Is it Russians, Chinese, or just the banality of bureaucracy that has led to this state of affairs of being so behind schedule and at risk of losing EU funding.

What happens if this high-profile showcase project goes sideways at a time when there is an ongoing war in Europe and the EU itself is under great scrutiny? The cost to the EU could be more than just money.

‘Nord Express’ is a stylish road movie that takes our audience on a journey that will leave them in reflection. What went wrong? Is there anybody to blame or take responsibility or is it a combination of decisions, events and interests.