Twenty years ago, the European Union opened its doors to ten new nations in the largest single expansion in its history. Time has passed, but what about the struggles, dreams, cultural clashes, and political discourse? This is a story of personal and societal evolution, of heritage and hope, of what has endured and what has changed. This is Ordinary Life — a look at how the everyday has continued, now with different perspectives, deeper connections, and a shared European journey. These interwoven lives are not only ordinary but also extraordinary.
Film "Ordinary Life. 20 years in the EU" brings together testimonies from all ten accession countries - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Malta - along with Ukraine, highlighting their efforts to join the European Union. Representing the spirit and culture of each of their homelands, the film’s protagonists are: a philosopher in Slovenia, a festa historian in Malta, a graffiti artist in Poland, and filmmakers from Estonia, among others. Together, they paint a portrait of Europe that is both old and new, familiar yet transformed. While next to them we witness a Ukrainian migrant's reflections on a journey with unknown outcome on both - personal and national level.
The film is produced by Latvian film studio Very Films as part of the CAMINO project, funded by the EU’s CERV program.
We want to express our gratitude to our partners for their help in the film's development: Film studio Very Films, University of Latvia (Latvia), Vilnius University (Lithuania), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Opole (Poland), J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic), Comenius University Bratislava (Slovakia), Ludovika University of Public Service (Hungary), and King Danylo University (Ukraine).