Over spring 2020, Lithuania diagnosed 1,676 cases of the novel coronavirus, while 71 people died of the disease it caused. Lithuania was lauded as a success story of containing the pandemic during its first wave.

Few could imagine that, come autumn, there’d be more new infections a day than there were during the three months of spring. And dozens of people would be added to daily death tolls. By the end of the year, Lithuania was number one in Europe by infections and near the top by deaths.

In this remotely produced documentary four people (an epidemiologist of the National Public Health Centre, two doctors and a nurse) share their personal experiences from the year of radical reversal. Angry passengers pushing through an airport, four-hour labours in an air-tight suit, neighbours forbidding their kids to talk to yours, and ever more present death. And throughout all that, the simple desire to keep enjoying one’s trade and one’s work.

Produced by Sigita Vegytė

Subtitles by Adomas Zubė

Presented at the EBU International Feature Conference 2021 (virtual) in Cologne, Germany

Nominated for PRIX EUROPA 2021