The Baltic Freedom Way

Directed by Askolds Saulītis

A film about the events that set the Baltic States on a historic path after proclaiming independence in the early 20th century. The first attempts for closer ties were made during the 1920s and 1930s, but they couldn’t avoid losing independence again during WWII. The greatest example of Baltic States cooperation was the joint demonstration against the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23rd, 1989 – the Baltic Way, in which almost 2 million people joined hands and created a human chain from Tallinn to Riga to Vilnius. It was a huge step towards the re-establishment of independence during the collapse of the USSR a year later. The Baltic Way was the catalyst for the process that led to the reality in which we now live: the great social, economic and political transitions of the 1990s, and the reintegration into the European cultural, economic and political milieu. The Baltic Way was the collaboration of the 3 sister-states, forging ahead, side by side, in joy and sorrow.