Jody Shapiro Director of "How to Start Your Own country"

What is a country in your opinion?

I don’t know! There is no official definition either. Technically, a country is generally recognized if it has a territory, a population and the capability of interacting with other countries. But it’s all very blurry. The UN is made up of 192 nations, Fifa has 208. If you ask the International League of Micronations, they count more than 500. It is very, very complicated, and any serious answer to that question carries severe political connotations. But I wanted to leave real world politics out of the question; it was too big of an issue and would have swallowed the movie entirely. I was more interested in approaching the problem from a philosophical point of view. I have always considered myself a Canadian, but while making the documentary I started to reflect on why I do identify with this country. I think it comes down to the individual, but it’s something that I am still trying to formulate. And because I cannot even answer the question for myself, I left it open.

What I have particularly appreciated in the documentary is that although it goes along with the semi-serious, good-hearted spirit of countries like the New Free State of Caroline (where anyone can become a citizen by applying online), it still shows how the principles on which these countries are born are the same ones that affect the big hot spots in the world today: territoriality can be solved on the Internet in the State of Caroline, but it is a real tragedy for countries like Palestine.

Yes, and it is not only about current affairs, it is a universal theme: the sense of belonging to a nation, to a territory… it’s one of the biggest permanent issues of history. The whole of history is the history of seizing territories and starting new social and political groups. But I wanted a detached, philosophical point of view on the issue.

How did you choose the countries to include in the film?

I chose the places that represented different ideas of a nation: there are those who consider it more of a culture, a state of mind, like the New Free State of Caroline, where you can get an online citizenship. There are places like the Hutt River, all based on territoriality. Or there is Seborga, in Italy, which was founded in the 10th century A.D. and does not really recognize Italy as a nation, being unified only 9 centuries later.

Any problems with visas?

Yes, actually!! Sealand, a 500 square-metre sea fort off the UK coast, funded in 1967 by a former pirate radio broadcaster, refused me permission to visit for three years in a row. You know, they are afraid of being treated by the press as a non-serious country…but actually, amongst the micronations they are considered a superpower!!

By Marta Musso