FORTRESS

What’s it like to live in a country that does not officially exist? After Transnistria declared independence from the Republic of Moldova in 1991, the “Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic” was never recognized by the international community, despite introducing its own currency and sovereign constitution. In the run-up to the 2011 presidential elections the filmmakers arrive in a country where time seems to have stood still. Aspects of the de-facto regime headed by President Smirnov for the past 20 years recall the darkest days of the Soviet Union: the bizarre state propaganda, the permanent surveillance of the population, the discrimination of regime critics. The film crew, which faces repression on repeated occasions, interview state employees who proudly point out that Transnistria boasts one policeman for every citizen, and fulsomely praise the prosperity and safeness of their country. We meet young Transnistrians convinced that they enjoy greater freedom than their contemporaries in neighbouring post-communist countries. But equally we see citizens who make no secret of the contempt they feel for a regime they see as criminal and corrupt. And, in fact, the results of the 2011 elections do seem to herald a turn in the political tide at last…