Baltic Documentary Film Forum this year – thematically and stylistically diverse cinematographic works
This year the program of the Baltic Documentary Forum will be opened by the film “Iron Butterflies” by Ukrainian director Roman Lyuby, which is a multifaceted study of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
The head of the forum, Zane Balchus, says that viewers will be able to get acquainted with the latest documentaries, diverse thematically and stylistically, as well as meet the filmmakers: “These topics are very diverse, but if we could describe that there is a certain trend, then most likely that the style of the film is very diverse, there are fewer observational stories where the filmmakers keep their distance from what we see on the screen, but there are a huge number of stories with the active participation of the authors, as well as stories that use a huge variety of materials to show us reality , let’s say, different archives, productions, and also there are films that merge the boundaries of different genres, which makes it difficult to determine whether we are watching a documentary or a staged work.
September 7 at the K. Suns” will show the film “Too Close”, filmed in Romania. This is the story of Andrea, a mother of two who, after being abused by her partner, must build a new, safer life just for her children. The film highlights the attitude of people towards victims of violence, and after the screening there will be a discussion on the level of tolerance of society towards violence in Latvia, which will be held by journalist Inese Braže, as well as experts from various fields will take part. .
“The theme of the film touches on a very serious and, unfortunately, all too current topic of child sexual abuse and domestic violence. And although this film sounds like a work that is very difficult to watch, it is not, because the film has a very strong main character who is ready to do everything to protect her children. Also, filming these events for a long time, the author The film shows us how to get out of such difficult circumstances, how to find a more stable place in life and how to establish family relationships and how to overcome this trauma,” says Zane Balchus.
During the forum, the Filmas.lv portal will also show films that were previously presented at the stage of creation. Ivar Zviedra’s film “Invisible Brasa”, the feature debut of the Lithuanian documentary filmmaker Maria Stonite “Fragile Warriors” about young women in the Lithuanian military service, as well as the film by Ukrainian Marta Smerechinska “Christ’s Bride’s Diary”. On the other hand, film screenings in Limbazhi and Riga will be attended by Ukrainian director Alisa Kovalenko, whose film “We Will Not Fade Out” depicts the thoughts of five brave young people of Donbass about the future and everyday life in the conditions of war.
“These young people have in common not only that they live in this particular place and have the same experience of constantly hearing these noises of war in the background, but they record and all go on a trip to the Himalayas, and there are these two very contrasting environments, like young people react to it and how we see them in different situations,” says Balchus.
Meanwhile, the film work, which aroused great interest even before the film forum, is the documentary film “After Work” by the Italian director Eric Gandini, which will also be shown outside of Riga, Zane Balchus notes: “What is the philosophy of different cultures? about what is work? and whether we know how not to work, if necessary. What will change in the world in the future as artificial intelligence develops and how different countries deal with unemployment or job creation, etc. The screening will be on Friday evening after the work week and the director will be present, and the audience will also be able to ask questions” .
The international film program of the 27th Baltic Documentary Film Forum will be shown from 5 to 10 September in Riga, at the K.Suns cinema, as well as at several screenings in Cēsis, Talsi, Rezekne, Limbazi and Liepupe.
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