The starting point for this project was the "Inflancka" housing estate in Warsaw, located near the Umschlagplatz Monument. Although the estate was built in the 1970s, around 2005 its residents decided to isolate themselves from the outside world behind a tight fence, mimicking the style of modern apartment complexes. This is a unique phenomenon on a European scale, where older residential blocks enclose themselves off from newly constructed spaces (rather than the other way around, as is typically the case with gentrification). It has created an absurd situation: a massive area within the city center is cordoned off, forcing outsiders to either walk vast distances around the perimeter or camp out near the gates, hoping to illegally slip through a shorter route.

I call the main focal point of these attempts “the Inflancka Strait.” The dance of gestures, the exchange of glances, and the entire repertoire of emotions accompanying this illicit crossing struck me as a compelling metaphor—a micro-laboratory for analyzing this phenomenon on a broader scale. This antagonistic infrastructure, which reinforces "us-versus-them" thinking, can paradoxically act as a vaccine once we recognize the absurdity of the situation. A micro-dose of the feeling of being illegal can foster empathy for those truly forced to travel. A small fraction of facing "otherness" can ultimately build tolerance for otherness on a larger scale.

The film follows a walk with my dog, Aleksander, around the estate, accompanied by a poetic narration exploring the entire experience of the Inflancka Strait.