During the national holiday month of November, the new film by director Viesturs Kairiš “January”, the story of the growth of a young cinematographer in January 1991, which is so important for the country of Latvia, will hit the big screens. In anticipation of the film and celebrating Latvia’s independence, we present the stories of eyewitnesses from the time of the barricades by those who claim that the film “January” is about them. Because the story exists not only in historical monographs, but also in its retelling, but the stories help to “travel back in time” – to the life that happened 30 years ago and of which these people tell these stories to their children. In the second series – Solvita Krese, head of the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art.
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“Colors change in the presence of death”
“I think the film managed to accurately capture that time, because you can restore and represent the events, but this combination of nonsense, hope, despair of that time, which enters the film through the representation of the life of young people, is a success. way of talking about that time, which at that moment had no value and seemed to have neither an end nor a beginning “, concludes Solvita Krese.
In January 1991 Solvita Krese was in her early twenties, lived in Pļavnieki, had recently started working and running a children’s pottery studio, wanted to become an artist and attempted to enter the Latvian Academy of Arts, but did not made him successful.
“At that time, I had to face big choices and unclear life tasks,” he admits. Before the events of the barricades, Solvita had the opportunity to go abroad to France, where she studied art history, visited museums and harvested grapes in the fields. At that time she did not know neither English nor French, only 30 German marks in her pocket. I also had to sleep under a bridge a couple of times, but the trip abroad gave me the impression that the world is very large, there are many opportunities and that we can deal with everything.
When he returned to Latvia, the barricades began and Solvita drove to the barricades as if to work, every day.
Time travel. January 1991
January 1991 was a month that the generations who have lived it always remember and tell. They can say this time in months, weeks or hours.
In Riga, OMON fighters occupied the press room on January 2, paralyzing the publication of press releases. On January 7, following the order of Mikhail Gorbachev, Dmitry Yazov issued an order to send airborne troops to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia under the pretext of enlisting in the armed forces of the USSR. In those weeks of January, TV Riga broadcast the 26th lesson “What is the date?” of the English teaching program “English for You”, and the 1st All-Union program the “Octopus-4” series. The beginning of the 1990s was a “turning point” in the history of Latvia, when the story of coming of age for those who were pupils and students at that time and who in various forms shape today’s Latvia unfolded. .
Viesturs Kairis’ new feature “January” is a personal story of director Viesturs Kairis, who was 19 at the time and who claims to know the characters in his film, even if they are fictional. He says: the film is about the beginning, the first month of the year, when we all chose freedom.
“January” is a historical and autobiographical excursion during the 1991 barricades on young filmmakers involved in the political events of January 1991 in Riga.
The film will start showing in cinemas across Latvia on 11 November.
