J. Podnieks. Is it easy...

25.09. / 22.00 / KINO BIZE - IS IT EASY TO BE YOUNG? / VAI VIEGLI BŪT JAUNAM? (1986)
The film honestly and emotionally tells about young people who are searching for their place in life. The film has a particular bite to it since it reveals the imposed senselessness and hypocrisy of the Soviet regime. The characters of the film are young people who freely talk about the taboo topics in society of the time – the war in Afghanistan, drugs, punks, the Krishna movement. The novice director creates a film about his peers and shows that death is encountered at every step, a sixteen year old girl which is ready to jump out of the window because she is accused of stealing, a young mother who is worried about her child’s future after the Chernobyl disaster, a young man who is severely punished in a Cheka trial concerning destruction of a train – these different fates create the dramatic narrative of the film, which begins with a rock concert in Ogre and ends with an old Afghan war veteran’s life lessons. The film Is It Easy To Be Young? is an absolute phenomenon. Seen by millions in over 85 countries, it reinvigorated the interest in documentary film.
26.09. / 20.00 / KKC - JURIS PODNIEKS’ SHORT FILMS
BROTHERS KOKARS / BRĀĻI KOKARI (1987)
Fascinating tale about two personalities, twins, orchestra conductors – Gido and Imants Kokars. Cinematographically stupendous film with a vast number of close-ups and honesty of its characters, which allows for a realistic insight into their personalities, desires, ambitions, talent and humour as well as an unparalleled visual metaphor – a slow motion shot in which the two brothers, using their strength, stubbornness and perseverance, rise from the black water on water skies. The last shot embodies the main idea of the film – a fanatical love for music and diligent work helps the two brothers rise from their poor childhood to the heights of the world music scene. Even the impossible is possible!
MOUNT YOUR HORSES, BOYS! / PUIKAS, ZIRGOS! (1979)
A film about boys and young men who sign up and train for a pentathlon. The director’s experience in this sports fosters a unique look into the atmosphere charged with emotional intensity, an inner battle which the young men have to fight as they grow up. Instead of a nameless narrator, J. Podnieks included the thoughts of the trainer Ainārs Leja and other athletes about pentathlon and the meaning of the athletic work-outs in the subsequent life of the boys, regardless of the path they choose.
SIZIF ROLLS A STONE / VEĻ SĪZIFS AKMENI (1985)
The script, co-written with sculptor Arnolds Plaudis, offers a realistic perspective on an artist’s fate in the totalitarian Soviet regime. J. Podnieks honestly, sharply and unyieldingly reveals an artist’s and his personal authorial freedom of choice and responsibility in terms of relationships with power and society. As eternal as the myth about Sizif who endlessly tries to roll a stone up a mountain, an artist’s journey involves choosing the roads not taken, expressing his ideas and convictions and being ready to stand for them. Starring Arta Dumpe, Oļegs Skarainis and Aivars Gulbis.
AN HOUR OF SILENCE / KLUSUMA STUNDA (1992)
The film is dedicated to the memory of Juris Podnieks’ cameraman and friend Andris Slapiņš and Gvido Zvaizgne, who tragically perished in the 20th January 1991 fusillade on the Bastion Hill in the Riga centre while on duty - bravely and selflessly capturing the moments of that time. An Hour of Silence is the last film of Juris Podnieks, which was finished shortly before the director’s death in June of 1992.
27.09 / 20.00 / KKC - IS IT EASY…? 20 YEARS LATER / VAI VIEGLI…? PĒC 20 GADIEM (2010)
Juris Podnieks’ legendary film Is It Easy To Be Young? created in 1986 was a strong narrative of that time, in which, through the stories of different young people, one could perfectly piece together the “machinery” of the Soviet regime. In it, a person was just a small cog necessary for the operation of the overall system. What surprises a modern viewer the most is the society’s attitude toward young people at the time, and the revelation of their complex inner worlds remains an eternal value. All this makes Juris Podnieks’ film Is It Easy To Be Young? a classic. It was interesting to capture these people 20 years later, especially since many of them now have children of the same age. This fact creates intrigue in the film, which focuses on the themes of time, the state and the characters’ views on modern youth now that they have families of their own – as well as their children’s evaluation of life in Latvia and their thoughts about their parents. Is It Easy…? 20 Years Later shows what became of the generation which contributed to the collapse of the Soviet system with a film in 1986.