Anu is a conductor, Kadri is a manager and her sister’s business partner. Their joint project is the internationally sought-after Estonian-Finnish symphony orchestra, which brings together ninety musicians from different countries. Music across borders – that is the sisters’ dream. Soon also in the European Union, which is becoming ten countries larger and richer. Some of them are the focus of this voyage of discovery, which begins in the winter ice of the port of Tallinn and ends in the spring over the Mediterranean port of Malta. Artists, musicians, filmmakers, photographers and fashion designers present their country, tell stories and anecdotes from their homeland, show their works of art and talk about their future in the EU. For sculptor David Cerny, whose provocative installations can be seen in Prague’s city center, the Czech Republic’s accession to the EU is a welcome and the only possible social development. Hungarian director Lajos Koltai is also optimistic about a borderless Europe, but believes it is important to preserve national identity and culture. In addition to a spirit of optimism and visions of the future, the film also deals with repressed history such as that of the Jewish district of Kaziemirz in Krakow. Polish photographer Elzbieta Lempp focuses on this in her work.
The cinematic journey also takes us to the Polish ski resort of Zakopane, allows us to visit a medieval restaurant in Tallinn and a winery in Slovenia and provides an insight into the ecstatic techno party at the Rudas thermal baths in Budapest. There is much to discover in the new old Europe, between the pack ice in the north and the African winds on Malta.