Gatis Gaujenieks

Movies

Valiant!
Music
Feature documentary on the antics of North American Latvian youth in the 1980s, during the last years of the Cold War – from chaining themselves to the Russian Embassy, to organizing an entire cruise ship treading the Soviet border in the Baltic Sea – generating headlines when few could even find Latvia on a map. The main hero is Juris Bļodnieks’ old Chrysler Valiant “Slant Six” that has been in storage for 25 years: painted with anti-Soviet slogans such as “Nyet, nyet Soviet!” and “Go(rbachev) to hell!”. A generation of US Latvians remembers the car appearing in demonstrations across North America. Day to day, while driving around his home state of New Jersey, Juris used the car to further the seemingly hopeless task – to free an illegally occupied Latvia.
Danceplay
Music
Traditional moral values and contemporary animation styles in a story about the adventures of the musician Tot. Set to ethnic music, the film is a contemporary “ballet” of animation based on a play by Rainis.