Documentary backdrop image for Failed State. Are We? (2014)

Documentary backdrop image for Failed State. Are We? (2014)

2014120 minPG-13documentary

5.0/ 10(1 rating)• TMDB

Failed State. Are We?

2014120 minPG-13documentary

5.0/ 10(1 rating)• TMDB

A quarter century of contrasts and challenges in Latvia follows its independence from the USSR, including joining the EU and NATO and winning Eurovision.

Genres

Director

Antra Cilinska-Dombrovska

Synopsis

A quarter century of contrasts and challenges in Latvia follows its independence from the USSR, including joining the EU and NATO and winning Eurovision.

People

Antra Cilinska-Dombrovska

Antra Cilinska-Dombrovskadirector

Jānis Domburswriter

Synopsis

Latvia achieved independence from the USSR in 1990. In the years that followed, the country faced challenges with state corruption, marked by instances of pilfering. Latvia won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004. The film covers a quarter century of Latvia’s transition, reflecting on democracy and capitalism amid various crises. It offers a stark view of the nation's progress and setbacks since freedom was restored.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Europe, What's Next? - A Journey Through Latvia (2013)

Europe, What's Next? - A Journey Through Latvia

Riga, Latvia's capital, reflects on the impact of EU membership since 2004, highlighting economic growth, the 2008 crisis, and the lives of its 2.2 million residents.

Europe, What's Next? - A Journey Through Latvia

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow (2025)

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow

1,500 Russian soldiers remain deployed in Transnistria, a breakaway region in Moldova that operates under Moscow's influence and support.

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow

Latvia - The Convention That Split a Nation (2026)

Latvia - The Convention That Split a Nation

Latvia's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention ignites a fierce debate over women's rights, revealing deep societal divisions and concerns about Russian influence.

Latvia - The Convention That Split a Nation

Baltic States: Life on the Edge (2024)

Baltic States: Life on the Edge

Twenty years after joining the European Union, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia still feel threatened by Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Baltic States: Life on the Edge

Georgia: Is the European Dream Over? (2025)

Georgia: Is the European Dream Over?

Ongoing protests in Georgia reflect citizens' demands for new elections and closer ties with the European Union amidst authoritarian measures by the pro-Russian government.

Georgia: Is the European Dream Over?

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist (2025)

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist

Phantom states like Transnistria, Abkhazia, and the People's Republic of Donetsk reveal the complexities of life under Russian influence and the struggle for recognition.

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States? (2025)

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States?

Breakaway republics like Abkhazia, Transnistria, and the People's Republic of Donetsk, under Moscow's control, reveal the complexities of life in these unrecognized regions.

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States?

Europe's Black Hole (2008)

Europe's Black Hole

An arrest warrant from Interpol is issued for Demitri Soin, an officer in the local division of the former KGB in the self-proclaimed Republic of Transnistria.

Europe's Black Hole

Georgian Nightmare (2025)

Georgian Nightmare

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Georgia to protest against the government amid rising tensions over pro-European aspirations.

Georgian Nightmare

Let's Talk About the EU! (2024)

Let's Talk About the EU!

30 years have passed since Georgia began its pursuit of EU membership, with recent protests reflecting the urgency of this aspiration amid political tensions.

Let's Talk About the EU!

Explore Failed State. Are We?

Where else to watch

Mr. Landsbergis (2021)

Mr. Landsbergis

2021•4h8m•★8.2TMDB

Vytautas Landsbergis was a key figure in Lithuania's peaceful fight for independence from the Soviet Union during the singing revolution from 1989 to 1991.

Mr. Landsbergis

Rodeo (2018)

Rodeo

2018•1h17m•★6.8TMDB

Tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers remained in Estonia in the 1990s as Mart Laar, a 32-year-old political novice, became prime minister.

Disco and Atomic War (2009)

Disco and Atomic War

2009•1h18m•★5.4TMDB

A boy in communist Estonia illegally watches Finnish television, thanks to his father's homemade converters for Soviet TV sets.

Disco and Atomic War

Extinction (2018)

Extinction

2018•1h23m•★6.3TMDB

A resident of Transnistria observes the daily impact of unresolved Cold War conflicts on life in the unrecognized state that seceded from Moldova in 1990.

Browse more like this

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow (2025)

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow

1,500 Russian soldiers remain deployed in Transnistria, a breakaway region in Moldova that operates under Moscow's influence and support.

Phantom States: Living Under the Control of Moscow

No digital watch option in your country

Baltic States: Life on the Edge (2024)

Baltic States: Life on the Edge

Twenty years after joining the European Union, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia still feel threatened by Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Baltic States: Life on the Edge

No digital watch option in your country

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist (2025)

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist

Phantom states like Transnistria, Abkhazia, and the People's Republic of Donetsk reveal the complexities of life under Russian influence and the struggle for recognition.

Phantom Nations: Inside Countries That Don't Exist

No digital watch option in your country

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States? (2025)

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States?

Breakaway republics like Abkhazia, Transnistria, and the People's Republic of Donetsk, under Moscow's control, reveal the complexities of life in these unrecognized regions.

Is Putin Rebuilding the USSR Through Breakaway States?

No digital watch option in your country

Georgian Nightmare (2025)

Georgian Nightmare

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Georgia to protest against the government amid rising tensions over pro-European aspirations.

Georgian Nightmare

No digital watch option in your country

Let's Talk About the EU! (2024)

Let's Talk About the EU!

30 years have passed since Georgia began its pursuit of EU membership, with recent protests reflecting the urgency of this aspiration amid political tensions.

Let's Talk About the EU!

No digital watch option in your country

Homeland (1990)

Homeland

1990•1h4m•★10.0TMDB

Three Baltic countries-Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia-struggled for independence during the fall of communism in the 20th century.

The Baltic Saga (2000)

The Baltic Saga

2000•1h•★9.0TMDB

Thousands of Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians who fled Soviet rule after World War II are returning to their homeland after regaining independence.

The Baltic Saga

Eestlase elu (1994)

Eestlase elu

1994•55m•★10.0TMDB

A film crew followed an ordinary Estonian family for 14 months after the 1992 monetary reform, set against the backdrop of Estonia's statehood emergence.

Life is Good. Even Better (2015)

Life is Good. Even Better

2015•28m•★9.8TMDB

In Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet citizen faces the challenges of post-Soviet life, reflecting the struggles experienced by many in the region.

Life is Good. Even Better

Collapse: The Dissolution of the Soviet Union (2021)

Collapse: The Dissolution of the Soviet Union

2021•52m•★8.5TMDB

In August 1991, the Soviet Union officially dissolved, following a failed coup and a series of ineffective reforms that destabilized the state.

Collapse: The Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Fortress (2013)

Fortress

2013•1h10m•★5.0TMDB

Filming in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is restricted to train windows, reflecting the regime's tight control over media and information.

Browse more by Antra Cilinska-Dombrovska

View all films →

The Anatomy of a Provocation (1996)

The Anatomy of a Provocation

1996

Thrown Into This World (2018)

Thrown Into This World

2018

The Formula of Happiness (2015)

The Formula of Happiness

2015

The Baltic Saga (2000)

The Baltic Saga

2000

Us and Them (2006)

Us and Them

2006

Podnieks On Podnieks. A Witness To History (2024)

Podnieks On Podnieks. A Witness To History

2024

eu (2004)

eu

2004

Unfinished Film (1993)

Unfinished Film

1993

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →