In January 2011, Latvia commemorated the 20th anniversary of the tragic events that occurred in January 1991. Film producer Andris Slapiņš was killed, and cameraman Gvido Zvaigzne was fatally injured on the night of January 20th and died in hospital two weeks later. He was a young man whose...
The documentary about Dainis Īvāns, leader of the National Awakening movement between late 1980s and early 1990s, a human symbol of the recent history of Latvia who embodies all hope, idealism, disappointment, choices, compromises, wins and losses. Eventually, he finds strength within himself to...
Near the end of the Second World War, when it became clear that Latvia would be re-invaded by the Soviet Army, some 150,000 of its citizens fled to Germany as refugees. Among them were farmers, businessmen, government officials, intellectuals and ordinary folks who had already experienced the...
The significance of Kurts Fridrihsons reaches beyond the importance of his art, because during the Soviet period there were not many personalities refusing to comply with the regime while at the same time being outstanding artists. The charm and lightness that Fridrihsons preserved from pre-war...
Interviews were conducted over a seven year period with 670 people who were deported to Siberia as children in 1941. Fragments of their memories form a mosaic revealing their past experiences of losing fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. Time heals, but nothing is forgotten and the stories must...
The protagonist of the film, Viktors, after losing his eyesight not only gets over depression and sense of estrangement but goes on living a full-fledged life – he forms a relationship, finds strength and motivation for mental development. Aware of his difference from the ones who can see,...
Andris Caune, Ojārs Grensbergs, Imants Grāvītis and Jānis Zemtautis spent many years in the Gulag camps. They survived. In 1954, a riot broke out in Jezkazan, Kazakhstan. The men’s camp and women’s camp joined together and held on for 40 days. Then came the tanks that killed more than...
An emotional, figurative and historical study of the memories of people who were deported to Siberia as children on June 14, 1941. The suffering of these victims is presented in contrast to the beautiful landscapes of Siberia. On June 14, 2009, the film crew, some of the deported children who...
On June 14, 1941, more than 15,000 Latvian inhabitants, including approximately 4,000 children of Latvian, Jewish, Polish and Russian ethnicity were deported to Siberia. During this period of deportation by the Soviet invaders, the men were separated from their families and sent to the Gulag. Some...
