Cold Homeland

As in the best tradition of DEFA (former East Germany's principal film studio), Volker Koepp has created a beautiful portrait of northern East Prussia and its people through their diverse personal stories and long sequence shots of the beautifully desolate landscape. This harsh and bleak area, located in the Baltic region between Lithuania and Poland, fell under Soviet control in 1945 and came to be known as Kaliningradskaja Oblast. In this Russian enclave, several different nationalities co-exist - Germans, Russians, Lithuanians, Poles all in relative harmony, despite the various political forces and upheavals the region has experienced. The respect and love Koepp feels for his enduring subjects emanate throughout the film. Here, people for whom love for the homeland applies more to a piece of land, a home, rather than national borders. This film and its heroes will leave the viewers spellbound in regard to the worldly wisdom and modesty of these people. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)