Waiting for “Players’ Night” – an online film about the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award Maris Ķimelis / Article / LSM.lv

November 23, with the announcement of the winners of the annual award at the “Players’ Night” theater, on a lifelong contribution to the art of theater will honor directors Māris Ķimelis and actors Leonīds Lencs. While waiting for the annual theater festival, it is possible to watch director Krista Burāne’s 2014 documentary “Māra” about Māra Ķimelis online. –

The film follows the relationship of director Māra Ķimele with her grandmother, son and work, documenting the creation of theater as an unreal reality not only on stage, but also in everyday life.

All the characters in this documentary portray – some in several roles, some themselves. But isn’t that why they’re not real?

Together with the actors of the New Riga Theater, Māra Ķimele performs Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, together with her son Pēteris plays small and large family dramas, together with her grandmother Anna Lācis becomes a director, together with Latvia’s most talented scenographers . Different times, rooms and people intertwine in the story of the artist’s courage, strength and vulnerability.

Along with Māra Ķimele, the film features Toms Auniņš, scenographers Andris Freibergs, Ilmārs Blumbergs, Viktors Jansons and Aija Zariņa, as well as actors from the New Riga Theater Guna Zariņa, Andris Keišs, Edgars Samītis, Jana Čivžele and Varis Pinķis.

The film’s creative team includes cameraman Valdis Celmiņš, animation and film artist Anete Melece in tandem with animator Tomas Burāns, composer Jēkabs Nīmanis, sound artist Maksims Šenteļevs. Anta Angel speaks and sings behind the scenes of the film.

The film uses photographs by Māra Brašmane, Irēna Junkere, Laimonis Stīpnieks and Gints Mālders. The film was produced in the studio “Nomadi”, its producers – Mārtiņš Eihe, Krista Burāne and Amanda Boka.

The film was nominated for the National Film Award “Kristaps the Great” as the best feature-length documentary and received a special award from the newspaper “Diena”. Krista Burāne was nominated for Best Documentary Film for her film, while Jēkabs Nīmanis received an award for Best Music for her work on the film.

Due to the state of emergency announced in the country, the announcement of the “Players’ Night” awards will not take place this year with the whole family of theater artists gathering together, but viewers will be able to watch the remote ceremony from 9.10 pm on public media portal LSM.lv, LTV1 and listen to Latvian Radio.

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