Embassy Supports the Premieres of Latvian Films Marijas klusums and Mana brīvība

The premiere of the film Maria’s Silence in Kaunas on 22 March marked the end of series of Latvian film premieres in the film festival Kino pavasaris. As part of the festival, audiences in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda had the opportunity to watch two films that were co-produced by Latvia and Lithuania, Maria’s Silence and My Freedom. The premieres were supported by the Embassy of Latvia in Lithuania. Ambassador Solveiga Silkalna took pride in the successful cooperation between he Latvian and Lithuanian cinema industries as well as highlighted the messages of the films, which allow us to talk about history, the opportunities and challenges of the period they depict, and drew attention to certain parallels with the situation nowadays.

Maria’s Silence by Director Dāvis Sīmanis reveals the tragic fate of the Latvian actress Marija Leiko in the 1930s, when following a successful career in Germany, she ended up in Soviet Russia due to family circumstances and became a victim of Stalin’s terror and was killed during the so-called Latvian operation. The world premiere of Maria’s Silence took place at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The film premiered in Vilnius on March 16, in Klaipeda on March 17, and in Kaunas on March 22.

My Freedom by Director Ilze Kungas-Melgaile portrays two years in the history of Latvia from 1988 to 1990, also known as Awakening (Atmoda). The prototype of its main character is one of the brightest stars of this period — a Latvian–Polish journalist and politician Ita Kozakeviča, whose flight in politics, as put by the film’s director, was very bright, but very short. The premiere of My Freedom took place in Vilnius on March 18, and in Kaunas on March 20.