Latvian co-production film “Imada’s childhood” wins the main prize at the documentary film festival in Sweden / Article / LSM.lv

The work of Zahavi Sanjavi, a Swedish-Latvian co-production, won the main prize and 7,000 euros for the Tempo Documentary Festival in Stockholm, Sweden. “Imad’s Childhood”, Representatives of the studio“ Fenixfilm ”informed. The film was made in the Swedish studio “AVB Production” and the Latvian studio “Fenixfilm” with the support of the National Cinema Center, Latvian film professionals have been involved in its creation. –

The film takes place in Kurdistan, Iraq, and its main character is Imad, who spent the very beginning of his life in the captivity of the terrorist group ISIS. Imad and his mother are released, but the time spent in captivity has had a strong effect on Imad’s psyche. The four-year-old boy runs aggressively around with toy guns, kills animals and is violent towards other children. The film’s director, Zahavi Sanjavi (1967), and his team follow the fate of Imada for several years, showing the boy’s family’s efforts to move him towards a normal childhood, which seems impossible due to circumstances.

Jury of the Stockholm Tempo Documentary Film Festival in its decision – Zahavi Sandzavi’s film “hopes that the love, patience and care of individual, strong women can create a sense of security that will help even the most deeply injured recover from injuries.

The film is about the brutal consequences of the war, it makes us think about the life of Imada and other children injured in the war. ”

The film “Childhood of Imada” is a co-production of Latvia and Sweden, the producers of the film in Latvia are the studio “Fenixfilm” – Matīss Kaža and Una Celma, who is also a co-author of the script. The Latvian side is also represented by sound director Aleksandrs Vaicahovskis, one of the editing directors Gunta Ikere, also color correction maker Oļegs Aleksejevs and other creative and technical professionals. Fenixfilm has previously collaborated with director Sandzavi to co-produce his 2016 film The Return, which premiered at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) competition.

The Tempo Documentary Film Festival is one of the largest documentary film festivals in Northern Europe, it was held for the 22nd time this year and, like many other film festivals during the pandemic, was organized online. In 2017, at the same festival, director Matissas Kaža’s debut documentary “One ticket, please!” won the NewDoc Award for Best Debut.

It is planned that the film “Imada Childhood” will be available on screens and streaming platforms in Latvia in the autumn of 2021.

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