Latvian documentary filmmaker Hercs Franks (1926-2013) directed his first films in 1965, the two ... more Latvian documentary filmmaker Hercs Franks (1926-2013) directed his first films in 1965, the two short documentaries were produced at the Latvian television's production unit Telefilma-Rīga: "Salty Bread" (Sāļā maize) and "At Noon" (Pusdienā). Both films reflect an intricate practice and aesthetic element of the directorthe use of still photography, which for him is both a research tool and a stylistic device present throughout his career. "Salty Bread" includes photographs as a stylistic element allowing the viewer to prolong observation of particular images, whereas in "At Noon" still photographs feature on the films' credits, but more significant is photography's use as a research tool for preparing the film. The intermedial studies have explored the interrelationship of different media and used intermediality as a tool for close reading of specific works, among other applications. The connection of cinema and photography represent the potential of intermedial approach through the technological, aesthetic, institutional practices. Specifically documentary cinema in its relation to photography shares additional issues of the meaning of documentality and representation of reality. Through close reading of Hercs Franks' first films, I would argue that Franks transcends normative documentary function in the use of still photographs [Hallas 2023] and demonstrates the intermedial practice in combining photography and documentary filmmaking.
Crossroad Street (Šķērsiela in Latvian) is an 800 m long street in the suburbs of the capital of ... more Crossroad Street (Šķērsiela in Latvian) is an 800 m long street in the suburbs of the capital of Latvia -Riga. The street and its inhabitants have been documented in three films by Latvian director Ivars Seleckis over more than two decades. They represent microhistories of people's lives, which reflect the political and socioeconomic situation in the country over more than two decades (the films were released between 1988 and 2013). The political transformations of the country's present and past weave through individual destinies, reflecting the deportations of the 1940s, Soviet oppressive politics, the period of perestroika and the awakening of independence, as well as the consequences of joining the European Union, and transiting through the economic crisis in the first decade of the 2000s.
The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director A... more The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director Ansis Epners' (1937-2003) oeuvre both in terms of his approach to documentary film practice, and growing interest in fiction filmmaking. The film "Alive" and later idea to develop a full-length fiction film based on its main character demonstrate Epners' unconventional expression of both kinds of filmmaking, which was received with a mixed response at the time. Epners used performative elements in the documentary, and included real-life character playing himself in the planned fiction film, challenging the assumptions and conventions of filmmaking practices in Latvia at that time. In this article I will analyse Epners' formal and stylistic choices in the film "Alive" and its reception in the early 1970s, and the script for the fiction film based on the main character of the film "Alive" Arnolds Cīrulis. The reception of "Alive" shows the contradictions between the dominant views on the documentary film form and Epners' work. The fiction film script, which was not turned into film, remains as an example of versatility of Epners' ideas on the potentials of fiction filmmaking.
The discussion Juris Podnieks and the Constellations of Times took place on 4 December 2020, in t... more The discussion Juris Podnieks and the Constellations of Times took place on 4 December 2020, in the framework of the research conference Culture Crossroads. Every year special thematic section of the conference focuses on cinema, and this time it was dedicated to Juris Podnieks (1950-1992), one of the most important documentary filmmakers of Latvian cinema who would have turned 70 on 5 December 2020. Juris Podnieks began working at the Riga Film Studio at the second half of the 1960s. In 1969, he entered the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography to become a documentary cinematographer. His graduation film was Herz Frank's full-length documentary "Restricted Area" (Aizliegtā zona, 1975), which he filmed (together with another cinematographer, Sergejs Nikolajevs) at the youth delinquents' colony in the town of Cēsis. Soon after, in 1977 he made his directorial debut with the newsreel Padomju Latvija/ "Soviet Latvia" (No. 3, 1977, entitled "The Cradle"/ Šūpulis). Since the beginning of the 1980s, Podnieks directed fulllength documentary films, and each of those became a notable artistic achievement and resonated in society. His first full-length film "Constellation of Riflemen" (Strēlnieku zvaigznājs, 1982) told the story of the Latvian riflemen who fought for their country under different regimes in the early 20 th century. At the beginning of the film, Podnieks introduces himself and presents the film's premise. It is still rarely used approach in Latvian documentary at the time, with the filmmaker participating and involving himself actively in the film. It was Podnieks' subsequent full-length film "Is It Easy to Be Young?" (Vai viegli būt jaunam?, 1986), which made his name known both in the Soviet Union and internationally, and paved the way for international assignments (covered also in the discussion below). This was an unusually honest testimony of young people of the Soviet Latvia, who dared to speak frankly and express their inner feelings and thoughts about the system they lived in. In the film history of the 1980s, this is one of the most important films coming out of the region referenced as signifiers of Gorbachev's perestroika. 1 The strong voice of
Since the beginning of the 21st century an increase of films with filmmakers present onscreen can... more Since the beginning of the 21st century an increase of films with filmmakers present onscreen can be observed in Latvian documentary cinema. Their stories open up personal issues and family histories, their presence diversifies stylistic approaches to documentary apart from most often used observational form. Issues of formal elements of narrating a story, representation of filmmaker’s self within the film’s narrative, power relations between the filmmaker and the character are at the core of study in documentary film theory, where participatory and performative modes (Bill Nichols), analysis of performative nature of documentary (Stella Bruzzi), and character representation (Carl Plantinga, Thomas Waugh) are explored. The three recent Latvian documentaries discussed in this article present variations of interaction of filmmaker and character/-s in telling the story of the director’s father in “My Father the Banker” (Mans tēvs baņķieris, Ieva Ozoliņa, 2015), disclosing the personali...
This article explores some of the ways in which economic and social precarity is depicted and nar... more This article explores some of the ways in which economic and social precarity is depicted and narrated in films produced in the Baltics after the introduction of neoliberal capitalism in the early 1990s. Laura Lapinskė writes that the dramatic collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by "immediate restructuring of major industries, the initiation of land reforms and privatization of state property." 1 The period of 1991-1995/1996 is often referred to as a "post-Communist transformation" or a time of "extraordinary politics" and "radical reforms." 2 The decline of the industrial sector, high inflation, weak national currencies, and the unstable banking system generated social and economic insecurity, as the rates of unemployment and poverty soared. Thus, the drastic transition from state-controlled to free-market economy "caused a shock-therapy with regular people bearing the cost of these transformations." 3 The prioritization of economic issues led to steadily increasing social and economic polarization and precarity of vulnerable groups, such as the low-educated, unskilled, lowwaged, women, elderly, disabled, ethnic minorities, and migrant workers. Although the EU accession in 2004 promoted economic stabilization and growth, the Baltic trio remained truly "neoliberal economies and even neoliberal welfare states" due to "their low public spending on social protection, high income inequality, and low social dialog." 4 The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 hit the Baltics hard, largely due to extensive financial vulnerability of the population and weak social systems. Moreover, the Baltic governments introduced the most aggressive austerity measures in the EU between 2008 and 2011, including cuts in social expenditures, pensions, and family and unemployment benefits. 5 While the
Oryginalne studium poświecone wspolpracy malo znanego na zachodzie litewskiego dokumentalisty Jur... more Oryginalne studium poświecone wspolpracy malo znanego na zachodzie litewskiego dokumentalisty Jurisa Podnieksa i scenarzysty Arnolda Plaudisa. W swoim artykule Zane Balcus wykracza poza tradycyjną analize skoncentrowaną na opisie stylu i interpretacji, badając zroznicowany material obejmujący szerokie spektrum materialow wizualnych (ilustrowane scenariusze) odzwierciedlających w oryginalny sposob proces powstawania dziela realizowanego przez dwie niezwykle osobowości. Autorka rekonstruuje obraz ich wspolnej pracy siegając po materialy prasowe, wywiady, teksty i szkice. Case of an artist as a scriptwriter in the works of Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks Original study devoted to the collaboration between little known Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks, and scriptwriter Arnolds Plaudis. Zane Balcus goes beyond traditional analysis focused on film style and interpretation, taking into account wide spectrum of visual documents (illustrated scripts), reflecting in an original way the process of developing an artwork by two creative personalities. The author reconstructs the image of their collaborative work following press materials, interviews and other written and drawn data.
Naro dowe , trans narod owe Noted Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) collab... more Naro dowe , trans narod owe Noted Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) collaborated with several scriptwriters during his rather brief career. The body of work created together with the artist, stage designer, and scriptwriter Arnolds Plaudis (1927-2008) constitute certain recurring elements and diverge from Podnieks' other more socially and politically charged films. Here disclosure of personalities and historical facts is achieved through reenactment, creating events for film's purposes, introducing elements of self-reflexivity, and others. Their collaboration is marked by another distinct feature-carefully planned scripts, illustrated with drawn schemes and graphic notes, a result of Plaudis' background in arts. A drawn scheme by Plaudis for the film Brothers Kokari (Brāļi Kokari, 1978) on the famous Latvian choir conductor brothers, illustrate this most fully. Various notes by Plaudis and Podnieks' questions to his scriptwriter while working on the film Constellation of Riflemen (Strēlnieku zvaigznājs, 1982) serve as an example of how the film's dramaturgy works and differs from the written ideas in the film's preparation stage. Necessity for putting one's ideas down on paper as schemata, representation of a symbol, or as a tool for clearer cinematic vision is a very characteristic method of Plaudis both in his work with other filmmakers and with Podnieks. The collaboration between Podnieks and Plaudis can be traced by looking at various press materials of the time, interviews conducted in the late 1990s, in the memory of Juris Podnieks, the films themselves, and various written and drawn visual documents created by Plaudis and Podnieks during their collaboration in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director A... more The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director Ansis Epners ' (1937-2003) oeuvre both in terms of his approach to documentary film practice, and growing interest in fiction filmmaking. The film "Alive" and later idea to develop a full-length fiction film based on its main character demonstrate Epners' unconventional expression of both kinds of filmmaking, which was received with a mixed response at the time. Epners used performative elements in the documentary, and included real-life character playing himself in the planned fiction film, challenging the assumptions and conventions of filmmaking practices in Latvia at that time.
Latvian documentary filmmaker Hercs Franks (1926-2013) directed his first films in 1965, the two ... more Latvian documentary filmmaker Hercs Franks (1926-2013) directed his first films in 1965, the two short documentaries were produced at the Latvian television's production unit Telefilma-Rīga: "Salty Bread" (Sāļā maize) and "At Noon" (Pusdienā). Both films reflect an intricate practice and aesthetic element of the directorthe use of still photography, which for him is both a research tool and a stylistic device present throughout his career. "Salty Bread" includes photographs as a stylistic element allowing the viewer to prolong observation of particular images, whereas in "At Noon" still photographs feature on the films' credits, but more significant is photography's use as a research tool for preparing the film. The intermedial studies have explored the interrelationship of different media and used intermediality as a tool for close reading of specific works, among other applications. The connection of cinema and photography represent the potential of intermedial approach through the technological, aesthetic, institutional practices. Specifically documentary cinema in its relation to photography shares additional issues of the meaning of documentality and representation of reality. Through close reading of Hercs Franks' first films, I would argue that Franks transcends normative documentary function in the use of still photographs [Hallas 2023] and demonstrates the intermedial practice in combining photography and documentary filmmaking.
Crossroad Street (Šķērsiela in Latvian) is an 800 m long street in the suburbs of the capital of ... more Crossroad Street (Šķērsiela in Latvian) is an 800 m long street in the suburbs of the capital of Latvia -Riga. The street and its inhabitants have been documented in three films by Latvian director Ivars Seleckis over more than two decades. They represent microhistories of people's lives, which reflect the political and socioeconomic situation in the country over more than two decades (the films were released between 1988 and 2013). The political transformations of the country's present and past weave through individual destinies, reflecting the deportations of the 1940s, Soviet oppressive politics, the period of perestroika and the awakening of independence, as well as the consequences of joining the European Union, and transiting through the economic crisis in the first decade of the 2000s.
The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director A... more The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director Ansis Epners' (1937-2003) oeuvre both in terms of his approach to documentary film practice, and growing interest in fiction filmmaking. The film "Alive" and later idea to develop a full-length fiction film based on its main character demonstrate Epners' unconventional expression of both kinds of filmmaking, which was received with a mixed response at the time. Epners used performative elements in the documentary, and included real-life character playing himself in the planned fiction film, challenging the assumptions and conventions of filmmaking practices in Latvia at that time. In this article I will analyse Epners' formal and stylistic choices in the film "Alive" and its reception in the early 1970s, and the script for the fiction film based on the main character of the film "Alive" Arnolds Cīrulis. The reception of "Alive" shows the contradictions between the dominant views on the documentary film form and Epners' work. The fiction film script, which was not turned into film, remains as an example of versatility of Epners' ideas on the potentials of fiction filmmaking.
The discussion Juris Podnieks and the Constellations of Times took place on 4 December 2020, in t... more The discussion Juris Podnieks and the Constellations of Times took place on 4 December 2020, in the framework of the research conference Culture Crossroads. Every year special thematic section of the conference focuses on cinema, and this time it was dedicated to Juris Podnieks (1950-1992), one of the most important documentary filmmakers of Latvian cinema who would have turned 70 on 5 December 2020. Juris Podnieks began working at the Riga Film Studio at the second half of the 1960s. In 1969, he entered the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography to become a documentary cinematographer. His graduation film was Herz Frank's full-length documentary "Restricted Area" (Aizliegtā zona, 1975), which he filmed (together with another cinematographer, Sergejs Nikolajevs) at the youth delinquents' colony in the town of Cēsis. Soon after, in 1977 he made his directorial debut with the newsreel Padomju Latvija/ "Soviet Latvia" (No. 3, 1977, entitled "The Cradle"/ Šūpulis). Since the beginning of the 1980s, Podnieks directed fulllength documentary films, and each of those became a notable artistic achievement and resonated in society. His first full-length film "Constellation of Riflemen" (Strēlnieku zvaigznājs, 1982) told the story of the Latvian riflemen who fought for their country under different regimes in the early 20 th century. At the beginning of the film, Podnieks introduces himself and presents the film's premise. It is still rarely used approach in Latvian documentary at the time, with the filmmaker participating and involving himself actively in the film. It was Podnieks' subsequent full-length film "Is It Easy to Be Young?" (Vai viegli būt jaunam?, 1986), which made his name known both in the Soviet Union and internationally, and paved the way for international assignments (covered also in the discussion below). This was an unusually honest testimony of young people of the Soviet Latvia, who dared to speak frankly and express their inner feelings and thoughts about the system they lived in. In the film history of the 1980s, this is one of the most important films coming out of the region referenced as signifiers of Gorbachev's perestroika. 1 The strong voice of
Since the beginning of the 21st century an increase of films with filmmakers present onscreen can... more Since the beginning of the 21st century an increase of films with filmmakers present onscreen can be observed in Latvian documentary cinema. Their stories open up personal issues and family histories, their presence diversifies stylistic approaches to documentary apart from most often used observational form. Issues of formal elements of narrating a story, representation of filmmaker’s self within the film’s narrative, power relations between the filmmaker and the character are at the core of study in documentary film theory, where participatory and performative modes (Bill Nichols), analysis of performative nature of documentary (Stella Bruzzi), and character representation (Carl Plantinga, Thomas Waugh) are explored. The three recent Latvian documentaries discussed in this article present variations of interaction of filmmaker and character/-s in telling the story of the director’s father in “My Father the Banker” (Mans tēvs baņķieris, Ieva Ozoliņa, 2015), disclosing the personali...
This article explores some of the ways in which economic and social precarity is depicted and nar... more This article explores some of the ways in which economic and social precarity is depicted and narrated in films produced in the Baltics after the introduction of neoliberal capitalism in the early 1990s. Laura Lapinskė writes that the dramatic collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by "immediate restructuring of major industries, the initiation of land reforms and privatization of state property." 1 The period of 1991-1995/1996 is often referred to as a "post-Communist transformation" or a time of "extraordinary politics" and "radical reforms." 2 The decline of the industrial sector, high inflation, weak national currencies, and the unstable banking system generated social and economic insecurity, as the rates of unemployment and poverty soared. Thus, the drastic transition from state-controlled to free-market economy "caused a shock-therapy with regular people bearing the cost of these transformations." 3 The prioritization of economic issues led to steadily increasing social and economic polarization and precarity of vulnerable groups, such as the low-educated, unskilled, lowwaged, women, elderly, disabled, ethnic minorities, and migrant workers. Although the EU accession in 2004 promoted economic stabilization and growth, the Baltic trio remained truly "neoliberal economies and even neoliberal welfare states" due to "their low public spending on social protection, high income inequality, and low social dialog." 4 The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 hit the Baltics hard, largely due to extensive financial vulnerability of the population and weak social systems. Moreover, the Baltic governments introduced the most aggressive austerity measures in the EU between 2008 and 2011, including cuts in social expenditures, pensions, and family and unemployment benefits. 5 While the
Oryginalne studium poświecone wspolpracy malo znanego na zachodzie litewskiego dokumentalisty Jur... more Oryginalne studium poświecone wspolpracy malo znanego na zachodzie litewskiego dokumentalisty Jurisa Podnieksa i scenarzysty Arnolda Plaudisa. W swoim artykule Zane Balcus wykracza poza tradycyjną analize skoncentrowaną na opisie stylu i interpretacji, badając zroznicowany material obejmujący szerokie spektrum materialow wizualnych (ilustrowane scenariusze) odzwierciedlających w oryginalny sposob proces powstawania dziela realizowanego przez dwie niezwykle osobowości. Autorka rekonstruuje obraz ich wspolnej pracy siegając po materialy prasowe, wywiady, teksty i szkice. Case of an artist as a scriptwriter in the works of Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks Original study devoted to the collaboration between little known Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks, and scriptwriter Arnolds Plaudis. Zane Balcus goes beyond traditional analysis focused on film style and interpretation, taking into account wide spectrum of visual documents (illustrated scripts), reflecting in an original way the process of developing an artwork by two creative personalities. The author reconstructs the image of their collaborative work following press materials, interviews and other written and drawn data.
Naro dowe , trans narod owe Noted Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) collab... more Naro dowe , trans narod owe Noted Latvian documentary filmmaker Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) collaborated with several scriptwriters during his rather brief career. The body of work created together with the artist, stage designer, and scriptwriter Arnolds Plaudis (1927-2008) constitute certain recurring elements and diverge from Podnieks' other more socially and politically charged films. Here disclosure of personalities and historical facts is achieved through reenactment, creating events for film's purposes, introducing elements of self-reflexivity, and others. Their collaboration is marked by another distinct feature-carefully planned scripts, illustrated with drawn schemes and graphic notes, a result of Plaudis' background in arts. A drawn scheme by Plaudis for the film Brothers Kokari (Brāļi Kokari, 1978) on the famous Latvian choir conductor brothers, illustrate this most fully. Various notes by Plaudis and Podnieks' questions to his scriptwriter while working on the film Constellation of Riflemen (Strēlnieku zvaigznājs, 1982) serve as an example of how the film's dramaturgy works and differs from the written ideas in the film's preparation stage. Necessity for putting one's ideas down on paper as schemata, representation of a symbol, or as a tool for clearer cinematic vision is a very characteristic method of Plaudis both in his work with other filmmakers and with Podnieks. The collaboration between Podnieks and Plaudis can be traced by looking at various press materials of the time, interviews conducted in the late 1990s, in the memory of Juris Podnieks, the films themselves, and various written and drawn visual documents created by Plaudis and Podnieks during their collaboration in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director A... more The first short documentary "Alive" (Dzīvs, 1970) is an important signifier of Latvian director Ansis Epners ' (1937-2003) oeuvre both in terms of his approach to documentary film practice, and growing interest in fiction filmmaking. The film "Alive" and later idea to develop a full-length fiction film based on its main character demonstrate Epners' unconventional expression of both kinds of filmmaking, which was received with a mixed response at the time. Epners used performative elements in the documentary, and included real-life character playing himself in the planned fiction film, challenging the assumptions and conventions of filmmaking practices in Latvia at that time.
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