From the “demolition” of the studio in the performance of Latvian rappers to the breaking of spears on the Russian stage diva Chulpana Hamatova – the DELFI TV show was so brilliant.Culture CircleThe season of 2022. This year has satiated the hunger caused by the pandemic for a wide range of cultural events and provided the opportunity for conversations with cultural personalities beloved by society. We invite you to look back on some of the most brilliant cultural events this year through the lens of the cozy studio camera of “KultūrKluba”.
Latvian cinema boom
Latvian cinema was an integral part of cultural life in 2022: more than 20 local films premiered in the autumn alone. Throughout the season, we have been learning about a mythological thriller in “KultūrKluba”. “Upura”, “Neon Spring”as well as “Sisters” behind the scenes, we looked into the series “Criminal Case for the Beginner” in progress and studied Riga International Film Festival pearl program.
Together with actor Andri Keiša, director Matīs Kaža and comedian Jānis Skuteli we discussed the movie “Taste of Water”and how the two-year residency corrupted theater culture.
We also discussed international film scandals, when asked if it would really be OK for a comedian to punch, as happened at this year’s ‘Oscar’ awards ceremony, Skutelis replied that breaking boundaries makes the such an interesting humor, he even shared his experience, as he himself almost got the face
During the national holiday, we also focused on the latest work by Viestura Kairis – for the film “January”, which has already won laurels in the international arena and received 12 “Big Kristaps” nominations. In “KultūrKlub” we spoke with director and lead actor Kārli Arnold Avota about what true patriotism means and why it is especially important to update this concept at a time when war is still going on in Ukraine.
“Eurovision” disappointments and hopes
Although “Eurovision” the music competition is usually controversial, this year at least part of the public was united in their indignation that Latvia failed to participate in the finals of the competition again. The reasons and versions why it was explained in “KultūrKlubā”. long-time commentator of the “Eurovision” music competition. Tom Grevin and singer, winner of Eurovision 2002 Maria Naumov.
Both admitted that the group “Other boysLatvia was honorably represented but it was not enough to succeed in the competition Grēviņš explained that the choice of participants in the final is controlled to ensure ratings, making it much more difficult for countries like Latvia to enter.
The question of how our representative will fare at Eurovision 2023 remains open. In the program, Grēviņš expressed that, in his opinion, success could be achieved by a folk group”Daughter of the nation“, which would allow Latvia to be brought back on stage, and the parodistic group “Masais princis”, which could organize a “real carnival”.
Disappointment from Latvia’s “Eurovision” misfortunes was softened by joy from Ukraine’s victory in the competition, as Grēviņš expressed in “KultūrKluba” even before the final decider: “If we can give the Ukrainians even one minute in which they will smile and feel happy, and if we can do it with such a trivial matter as the “Eurovision” song contest, then let’s do it!”. We made it!
“herbarium” of music
An integral part of the cultural gourmet “menu” of 2022 was music. In “KultūrKlub” we spoke with the musicians of “The Sound Poets” and groups “Mothers of the Nation” on new albums and concerts, the world famous also visited the program accordionist Ksenia Sidorova.
We had a warm conversation with musician Jānis Šipkēvica, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year by releasing a new album and performing concerts. We’ve looked back at how his oeuvre has changed over the years and learned how the “herbarium” of music and words was created, from which to draw material for new songs. Šipkēvics told how he plays with words, creating lyrics for his songs and those of other musicians.
Concert tour “Brainstorm”.
One of the most anticipated post-pandemic summer events was the concert tour of Latvia’s most popular band “Prāta vētra”. We talked to the musicians of “KultūrKlub”. about the ability to live with fame, the burden of responsibility imposed by popularity, as well as the adventures behind the scenes of “REM” and “The Rolling Stones”.
About preparation for concerts, the guitarist of the group Janis Jubalts and keyboardist Maris Mikhelsons found that the so-called “encores” or songs that the band plays after the end of the concert create a lot of stress for the technical team, because they have not been coordinated in advance.
Latvian rap summer
The summer of 2022 has passed under the sign of hip-hop: the first national hip-hop festival “Straume” took place in early July, meanwhile, the famous “hiphopers” Megan Thee Stallion and A$AP Rocky , as well as a large number of Latvian rappers – We discussed this festival program selection in the program with the organizer of “Positivus” Ęirtas Majoras and rapper Prusax. On the other hand, the Latvian “rap summer” ended in a grand way with the big concert of the Latvian rapper Ansha in Andrejsala.
In “KultūrKlub” Latvian rappers ansis and roland če confirmed that over time the perception of rap and rappers has changed, breaking the stereotypes that they are bandits who “can’t sing and drink beer in the stairwell”. Both admitted that the Latvian rap scene has become smarter during these years and the quality of music has grown significantly, many sub-genres with their “flagships” have appeared.
The most memorable moment of this program was the moment when rolandče, gesticulating passionately, grabbed and smashed an element of the studio: a glass. Tellingly, at the time it happened, he said, “As a rapper, I just feel ecstatic, like running naked through a canola field. It’s been 20 years and I can do whatever I want with music.”
Pearls of the theater season
One of the most talked about theatrical events of the year was the play “Cotton Fields Loneliness”, which brought together Hollywood star John Malkovich and outstanding Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaita on the stage of the “Daile” theater. Director of the theater “Dailes” in the “KultūrKlub” Juris Žagars he admitted that refusing Russian funding and undertaking to make the show with his own funds was the biggest risk of his life.
During the conversation, Žagar revealed that shortly beforehand, the artistic director of New Riga Theater, Alvis Hermanis, had announced that the Russian actress Culpanas Hamatovas recruitment, the Daile Theater would also have made such an invitation to her.
Other Latvian theaters also did not skimp on novelties: after an 11-year break, the position of artistic director was restored in the Latvian National Theater, and the position was taken by a well-known director Elmars Senkov. What new winds will it bring to the future mission, vision and strategy of the theatre, Both the director himself and the director of the National Theater Jānis Vimba spoke in “KultūrKlubā”.. In the program they talked about the prejudices that the word “national” imposes on the name of the theater and shared their reflections on how to find a balance between experimentation, growth and the preservation of tradition.
From the Professor to Helen in “Fire”
An integral part of cultural and theatrical life is speech and the sound of the voice – it has been studied by the actress, speech teacher, associate professor for several years both in practice and in theory. Zane Vadņiņawho this year released his second book “An Actor’s Speech in the Latvian Theater of the 21st Century”. “In the Culture Club,” he explained, because in recent decades the Latvian theater has experienced a profound crisis of the actor’s language, and has discovered that anyone can improve the sound of their voice, thus also increasing their self-esteem. The return to the screens of the TV series “Ugunsgreks” this year brought great joy to many lovers of local TV series. from a professor and speech teacher to a colorful picture of Helena.
“Night of the Gambler” “Fireworks”
At the end of the year, theater professionals usually gathered “Gambler’s NightThis year, however, the event attracted more public attention: the award for best actress went to Chulpana Khamatova, a Russian stage diva who once supported the Putin regime, while the best actor was awarded Kaspars Zvigulis, who had recently quit her job in the theatre. Criticism was also caused by the moment when during the ceremony the chairman of the board of the union of Latvian theater employees Ojar Rubenis In particular, the supporter of “Spēlmaņu nakts” “Latvijas gāze” was highlighted, of which 34% of the shares belong to the Russian gas company “Gazprom”. In the program, Rubenis explained, why he did not stop cooperation with “Latvijas gāzi”, and also revealed that his opinion in the case of Hamatova is not clear, moreover, most likely he himself would have hired the actress if she was still in the position of director of the National Theater Latvian.
See you next year
It was the year 2022, browsing through the most viewed episodes of the “KultūrKlubs” program. Which cultural and artistic events cannot be missed in 2023 – we will continue to tell them together with well-known figures from society – every Friday afternoon on Delphi TV, as well as on the Facebook and YouTube platforms.
