Extinction

Transnistria is a microstate on the eastern border of Moldavia. The country declared its independence in 1990, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it’s only recognized by three other countries, which themselves are unrecognized by the international community. Russia is bordered by dozens of areas that are potential time bombs, and this includes Transnistria.

Kolja is one of the half-million inhabitants who have been living in a twilight zone for a quarter of a century. He's a staunch nationalist, but he has faith in the support of Russia and also has a Moldavian passport. As he travels through a country where monuments keep the communist past alive, he talks to border guards and a foreigner whom we hear but don’t see. Sometimes the screen goes blank and only the voices remain. Extinction reveals a situation of political limbo, between reality and dream. Director Salomé Lamas describes her black-and-white film as “para-fiction.”