PHOTO: the shooting of the multi-series film “Emilija. Queen of the Latvian Press” has started

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The multi-series film “Emilia. The Queen of the Latvian Press ”will be the story of the interwar queen of the Latvian press – Emilija Benjamins, the publisher of the“ Latest News ”and“ Recreation ”, whose personality, wealth and tragic fate have become legends. The film’s story in six feature films and one documentary series covers the period from the beginnings of Emilia Benjamin’s magazine Recreation to her death in Siberia. Each series is expected to reflect a significant part of her life, showing different aspects of her personality – family life, entrepreneurship, strengthening social status, influencing political and cultural developments in the 1920s and 1930s, her dreams and problems as a woman, and ultimately the betrayal of the employees themselves.

With this strong woman in the center of the story, the film will show Latvian society in all its colors, and viewers are given the opportunity to recognize many well-known historical figures – Kārlis Skalbs, Vili Lācis, Jānis Kārkliņš, actress, Emilia’s sister Annija Simson, Augusts Kirhenstein. The film’s six feature series will be the authors’ artistic interpretation of the main character and historical events, while the last, seventh series is a collection of documentary evidence of the film’s characters, their prototypes in the memories of their descendants.

The production of a multi-series film in September 2020 was supported by a competition announced by the National Film Center and the Ministry of Culture for the production of a high-quality and artistically high-quality series as part of a support program for the cultural sector threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic and emergency.

“Multi-series films” Emilija. The Queen of the Latvian Press ”project is one of two projects that have received support in a competition organized by the National Film Center, the aim of which was to support the production of high-quality, multi-series films. This competition was also a new challenge for the Latvian film industry. As high-quality series that offer high artistic quality have become an important part of audiovisual culture, the following stories are also needed in the Latvian context – multi-series films with lasting cultural and historical value. We wish the project creators success! We also see the potential in that the project is supported by NKC, LTV and “Tet”, ”says Dita Rietuma, the head of the National Film Center.

The national co-producers of the series are the technology and entertainment company “Tet” and Latvijas Televīzija, and this kind of cooperation in creating a national series between the National Cinema Center, “Tet” and LTV is taking place for the first time.

“Emilija Benjamiņa’s career was the focus of public attention during her time and we are happy to participate in a project that will also draw the attention of modern society to this important personality in the history of Latvia. It is very important that local stories about strong and charismatic characters are made in Latvia, and this multi-series film created by a strong team will definitely be one of the most anticipated news next year, ”says Inga Alika-Stroda, Director of Entertainment Services at Tet.

“A high-quality historical series is an important and audience-demanded genre on Europe’s leading public television, and we are glad that Latvian Television can contribute to the growth of this genre in Latvia. We are convinced that the high-quality team will create high-quality work with lasting value, ”says Rita Ruduša, Director of the LTV Programs Department.

Multi-series films “Emilia. The Queen of the Latvian Press ”is scheduled to premiere in the autumn of 2021, but in 2022 the series will be shown by Latvian Television. In the film, the role of Emilija Benjamiņa is played by actress Guna Zariņa, Antons Benjamiņš – Juris Bartkevičs.

The screenplay was written by Ivo Briedis, Baņuta Rubess, Aiva Birbele, Tabita Rudzāte, consultants writer Māra Zālīte, historian Ineta Lipša, directors Kristīne Želve, Andis Mizišs, Dāvis Sīmanis are working on the production of the multi-series film, and Gints Grūbe is working on the documentary part. The main cameraman of the multi-series film is Andrejs Rudzāts, the film’s artists Kristīne Jurjāne and Aivars Žukovskis, producers Inese Boka-Grūbe and Gints Grūbe.

Film studio “Mistrus Media” has previously made several historical feature films: “Chronicle of Melania”, “Father’s Night”, co-produced feature films “Twilight”, “Natural Light”, documentary history reconstructions “Escaping Riga”, “Spy, who is my father” – films , which have been screened in Latvia and many world – important film festivals.