The film “January” is a personal and almost documentary story by director Viesturs Kairis about the maturation and growth of a young man during the 1991 barricade events in Riga. “Janvāris” is also a tribute to those who, putting their own life, documented the moment of Latvia’s regaining independence. Common and individual ignorance of the future has created an ambiguous feeling in people, which the director of the film compares to a dangerous combustible liquid.
“At that time I had a really self-centered attitude. I survived, of course, and the time of Awakening was a huge event and I attended the congresses of the Popular Front. But I couldn’t resist the growth of hormones either,” says director Viesturs Kairis. “I’m lucky to have experienced it. And I remember the energy of it. It wasn’t such a bad time. It was such a busy time. You lived a different life. And that’s what I remember, and maybe that’s why I do mine. craft”.
The shooting of the film coincided with the period of the pandemic, which seriously complicated the working conditions for its creators. In order to visually resemble the video language of the 90s as closely as possible, eight-millimeter cameras in “Betacam” format were used in the making of the film. The specially filmed footage is interspersed with original documentary footage and, at times, is indistinguishable.
“It’s like diving into that situation with everything, with your conscious and unconscious resources. You have to know the whole documentary to be able to freely face the reality of the day”, describes the artist’s work on the film Ieva Jurjane.
“We tried to absorb the atmosphere of that time and we really wanted to be free – to work without artistic bias. Also to take risks”, stresses Kairiš.
The main roles in the film are entrusted to young actors Kārlis Arnold Avotas and Alisa Dzene. The actor of the central character – Yaža, compares the four years of work in the feature film with the breakthrough in history.
“Basically it’s a foreign world to me. What the barricades make me conclude, both for my character and for me as Karl, that ‘freedom’ is a verb. And you have to be brave enough, and the real patriotism is when you do. some things really hurt and you are ready to defend them to change them. Some values are worth protecting and fighting for, “Kārlis Arnolds Avots shares his thoughts.
“January” is a co-production of the Latvian film studio “Mistrus Media” with Lithuania and Poland. The film had its international premiere and first accolade as early as June, at the Tribeca Film Festival in the United States, followed by awards at other film forums in Europe. In Latvia, the film will be available in all cinemas from 11 November.
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