Aivars Kalniņš

“Vestards is a God, a God of pianists! The power of his energy is unbelievable!” – after a concert said a fan of Vestards her eyes shining in excitement. Where does the internationally acclaimed pianist Vestards imkus find the source of the divine energy he is so generously offering to his audiences? We are looking for the answers following Vestards for four years and catching a glimpse of his love for nature and life in his remote countryside home in four different seasons. We also observe him at concerts and rehearsals in Riga, Berlin, Madona, Barcelona, Liepāja, London and Bilbao – not pointing out the geography of destinations but documenting the pianist’s absolute devotion for music.

In commemorating WWII events in Latvia each year, several “controversial dates” arise. These are remembrance dates that are viewed differently by Latvians, Russians and Jews. The film searches for answers through three main characters, each a representative of their nationality, and categorical in their opposing way of thinking. Why is a date that is celebrated and honoured by one side, also a symbol of deep pain and injustice for another? Why are there, to this day, in a country as small as Latvia, three or more completely differing historical interpretations?

Фильм посвящён легендарному советскому академику, который придумал водородную бомбу и всю жизнь боролся за свободу. Повествование в фильме «Мой муж Андрей Сахаров» ведёт его жена - известная правозащитница Елена Боннэр. Её рассказ не только знакомит зрителей с биографией академика, посвятившего себя критике идеологии СССР, но и раскрывает характер Сахарова, позволяет проникнуть в личный мир человека, который до сих пор вызывает интерес и уважение всего мира.

Actress Indra Burkovska tells the story of her father Aleksandrs and his large family, and life on the farm through the 20th century when the farmer was both a master and a slave to his land. Aleksandrs presents a gift to the Ethnographic Open Air Museum that was his life’s dream – a threshing machine Imanta.

Vija Vetra is the famous Latvian dancer and choreographer. She was admired for her dancing by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. She was loved by the world famous American poet Robert Lowell. She was the first to introduce sacred dance into church services in many different countries around the world. She has learned to cross freely the cultural boundaries, feeling equally at home both in Eastern and Western dance traditions. Born in Latvia, she has spent her life in different parts of the world and the camera traces her in the film (from India in 70ies where she had been renowned as "Vijaya", to New York, Greece, and Latvia today). The film is as colorful as her life: loud and happy like the feelings aroused by her splendid performance, deep and unknowable like her inner world, and sad, quiet and calm like loneliness itself?

Our heroes are from Latvia, but any country acquainted with drug addiction problem would recognize its youth in them. We do not condemn them, we listen. Their stories are laconic and clear. Illusory world and reality. A fleeting pleasure, price of which – life itself…