Martin Piga captures a stateless future on film

Slovak filmmaker Martin Piga is documenting a peaceful revolution – one that takes shape not in the streets, but through the quiet choices people make to reduce their dependence on state systems. His upcoming documentary Parallel Space explores how technology, especially Bitcoin, is being used by those who want to live differently – outside the reach of traditional authority.

“Bitcoin, for me, means to be independent,” Martin Piga told The Crypto Radio at the Bitcoin FilmFest in Warsaw. “To take control over my goods.”

The idea for the film began with a simple but provocative question: what does it mean to truly live free?

At its core, Parallel Space is about people – those questioning authority, rethinking borders, and building alternative systems grounded in voluntary interaction.

“To be independent, almost for everybody, it means something else, you know, to be free – it means something very, very different.”

From voluntarism to nomadism

At the heart of Piga’s project is the philosophy of voluntarism – the idea that all human interaction should be voluntary and consensual. It’s a sharp contrast to how modern societies operate, where state power is inherited at birth and enforced through law and surveillance.

“The problem is, if you are born into some state, you are signing a contract with the state that you never agreed to,” he said.

This tension has led some individuals to seek out stateless or nomadic lifestyles. According to Piga, millions of people around the world already live this way – moving constantly, working remotely, and forming new communities untethered to any single jurisdiction.

“Already there is, like, 13 million people living this way,” he said. “They are all the time on the travels… doing different stuff.”

These aren’t off-grid survivalists. They’re digital nomads, artists, entrepreneurs – people choosing not to resist the system through conflict, but to step around it entirely.

“It’s not just about making this movie, but it’s also about changing the mindset,” Piga said. “It’s also changed me as a person.”

Technology as a tool for peaceful resistance

At a café in Warsaw, Martin Piga spoke with The Crypto Radio’s Bo Jablonski about documenting stateless lives and personal freedom

“During the communist regime, people had a problem to share ideas, to share books, because there was a lot of censorship,” Piga said. “But they always found some way.”

Today, Bitcoin has taken on that role – a tool for bypassing control and sharing ideas freely.

“We can use these technologies. It’s not possible to take control because [they're] decentralized,” he said.

For Piga, Bitcoin enables systems that can operate beyond state control. “We can build a parallel economy with Bitcoin, because it’s not possible to censor Bitcoin,” he said.

“Bitcoin is a peaceful revolution. It’s starting from the bottom. It’s not something what they were trying to implement into society from above.”

This idea of grassroots change runs through the entire film. There’s no manifesto, no call to overthrow governments. Instead, there’s an exploration of how individuals are quietly reclaiming their autonomy.

From Slovakia to South America – and beyond

Parallel Space is a work in progress, documenting how people are building decentralized lives beyond traditional state systems. Photo: Geyser Fund

Piga’s own political journey reflects the arc of his film. Once a strong democrat in Slovakia, he became disillusioned by corruption and international posturing.

That discomfort became motivation. Over the past three years, Piga has been filming across Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and South America – focusing on people defined not by nationality, but by how they live: choosing responsibility over reliance, and building from the ground up.

“I’m not interested in technical stuff, for example, how Bitcoin works,” he said. “But more to show different tools in present that can be used to be more independent.”

That human focus is deliberate. Instead of charts or white papers, Parallel Space aims to capture emotion, conflict, transformation. It’s a portrait of those who live in what Piga calls “parallel space” – coexisting with mainstream society, but not confined by it.

“If you want to do something in your life, you should be able to do that.”

The documentary is still in development, with Piga continuing his research and script work while raising money on the Bitcoin-based crowdfunding platform Geyser Fund.

Momentum also suggests a wider shift, as decentralization and personal sovereignty move from niche ideals to real-life experiments.

“We gave too much power to the people who are deciding about our lives,” Piga said.