Belina (2019)

Belina is a metaphor for Romania. Once we understood what has happened with this piece of land in the last years, we understood better what is happening to nowadays' Romania. On this island on the shore of the Danube River, one can easily see what it means when some people put themselves above the law, and the power of state institutions put in place to defend the rights of citizens weighs no more than some useless declarations on paper. In the last two years, while documenting protests in defense of the rule of law in Bucharest - where people started to talk about the imminent installation of a dictatorship - we have made regular trips to Teleorman county and seized all chances to enter Belina, the treasure island. On Belina, laws and rights exist only in theory. There is no transparency of political decisions, crimes happen behind illegal barriers, law enforcement officers work only for those in power, and if these people ever have to face a judge, their court proceedings are delayed, laws are changed in their benefit and the injustice to citizens is never made up for.