And then They Came is set in the snowy forests and isolated border villages of Dieveniskes region of Lithuania, which is surrounded on three sides by Belarus. Since the Baltic country broke away from the Soviet Union in 1990, the people have been wary of its eastern neighbours, fearing a repeat invasion. The 50-year Soviet occupation left a collective trauma, which was triggered again with the 2022 invasion on
Ukraine. People in the borderlands found themselves asking – are we next?
But as no invasion came, the sense of urgency died down. The viewers are ultimately posed the question of whether the cries of wolf for decades have made us numb to the threat of the wolf – and is it already near the gates, or within the village walls? And what, or who, is the wolf?
Participant: Benas Gerdziunas