Juris Podnieks and Latvian Documentary Cinema
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FROM THE PERSONAL TO THE PUBLIC: JURIS PODNIEKS AND LATVIAN DOCUMENTARY CINEMA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Maruta Zane Vitols, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor J. Ronald Green, Adviser Professor Lisa Florman _________________________________ Professor Judith Mayne Adviser History of Art Graduate Program Copyright by Maruta Zane Vitols 2008 ABSTRACT In recent decades and particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, cinema scholars have devoted a considerable amount of attention to Eastern European films and filmmakers. Yet, the rich film tradition of the Baltic States, particularly the thriving Latvian national cinema, remains foreign to western cinema scholars. One finds very little written in academia in this subject area, although the rapidly growing economies and the increase of the political currency of the Baltic States have sparked a new awareness of this geographical area. A fresh interest in Latvian filmmakers as the voices of their society is emerging, stemming from the country’s rich cinema history. Within the realm of Latvian documentary filmmaking, one figure from recent years shines as a star of the genre. Juris Podnieks (1950-1992) and his films hold a privileged place in Latvian culture and history. His breakthrough feature Is It Easy to Be Young? (1986) heralded the advent of a new era for Latvian and Soviet documentary filmmaking accompanying the implementation of Gorbachev’s glasnost plan in the Soviet Union. Podnieks took advantage of the new policy of openness and employed Is It Easy to Be Young? as a vehicle for exploring the state of youth culture under a non-democratic regime. The high level of frankness of this documentary ii shocked spectators across the Soviet Union, and made Is It Easy to Be Young? an unparalleled sensation in Soviet cinema history. This study begins a new contribution to the understanding of Latvian cinema through an examination of Podnieks’s documentaries. My assessment of Podnieks’s documentaries entails readings of each of his films individually, as well as the identification and exploration of the main subjects and important themes of his oeuvre. Whenever necessary, I provide readers with the essential Latvian cultural and historical knowledge needed in order to access some of the meanings of Podnieks’s documentaries. This study offers one entry point into the director’s works, and invites further research on this filmmaker and on Latvian national cinema. iii Dedicated to my father, Vitolds V. Vitols, who took me to my first movie iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Just as a film requires the work of a dedicated crew, this academic project has been realized with the aid of a small army of people. First and foremost, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Professor J. Ronald Green for serving as my adviser and for providing immeasurable assistance to me throughout my graduate school career. I am also enormously thankful to Professors Lisa Florman and Judith Mayne for all of the academic support that they have provided over the years. Without the valuable assistance of these three individuals, this project would never exist. Second, I wish to thank Antra Cilinska of the Juris Podnieks Studio (Riga, Latvia) and Valda Barone of the Latvia State Archive of Audio-Visual Documents (Riga, Latvia) for their warm help in arranging screenings for me of Podnieks’s films, procuring copies of Podnieks’s work, and for their general enthusiasm and encouragement. I would like to extend a special thank you to Inta Kanepaja, the Director of the Latvia State Archive of Audio-Visual Documents, for granting me access to the archive’s collection and to Janis Smits and Aivars Strods for patiently screening many of Podnieks’s films for me at the Archive. Laima Mincenofa at the Riga Film Museum (Riga, Latvia) also deserves my gratitude for her assistance in navigating the Museum’s video and print material collections in their storage facility. v Many thanks go to Elina Reitere, Anita Uzulniece, Agris Redovics, Abrams Kleckins, and Yuri Tsivian for taking time from their busy schedules to discuss Latvian cinema with me. All of these conversations vastly enriched my project. At The Ohio State University, I am very grateful to present and former librarians Eleanor Block and Susan Wyngaard for their assistance in the initial research on my topic, and to Leslee Kuhn, Moni Wood, and Mary Beth Jones for helping me navigate the bureaucratic structures at the University. Their kindness and generosity sustained my project at crucial times. I also wish to thank the interlibrary loan staff at the Newton Free Library in Newton, Massachusetts for their aid in obtaining various materials on Latvian cinema. Next, my sincerest thanks to the Fulbright Commission and the History of Art Department and Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University for providing financial support for the nine months that I spent in Riga, Latvia during the 2006-2007 academic year. Thanks, as well, to the Wexner Center for the Arts for offering me funding through a graduate associateship while completing my coursework and conducting preliminary research for this project. I am also very grateful to the P.E.O. Sisterhood for awarding me a Scholar Award to complete my dissertation and degree. Finally, words seem inadequate to express the profound gratitude I feel for all of the love, support, and patience that I have received from my family and friends. vi They have read countless drafts, listened to numerous rants, and dried many tears. Their constant, unwavering belief in me and in my work has sustained me through more challenges than I care to remember. They have been the air in my lungs, and it is because of them that I have been able to follow my dreams. Paldies!!!! vii VITA August 19, 1976 ……………………..Born – Newton, Massachusetts 1998 ………………………………….B.A., Italian Culture, Wellesley College. 2000…………………………………..M.A., Cinema Studies, New York University 2001 - 2004………………………….. Instructor, Newton Community Education 2004 - 2006…………………………...Graduate Associate, Wexner Center for the Arts 2008 - present…………………………Adjunct Faculty, Emerson College PUBLICATIONS Research Publication 1. Maruta Z. Vitols, “Vizualizejot emocijas: Jura Podnieka ekspresionistiska stila sakums.” Jauna Gaita. Vol. LII, No. 4, Issue 251, December 2007: 36-38. 2. Maruta Z. Vitols, “In The Face of Change: Latvian-American Pilgrimages in the Post-Soviet Era.” In 2005 Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum Proceedings, Vol. 5, 2005. Ed. Catherine J. Baack. Columbus: Council of Graduate Students at The Ohio State University, 2005, 283-294. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History of Art viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………….. ii Dedication………………………………………………………………………….. iv Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………..v Vita…………………………………………………………………………………. viii Chapters: 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………… 1 Juris Podnieks……………………………………………………………… 30 Podnieks’s Themes and Their Contexts……………………………………. 41 Methodology……………………………………………………………….. 44 2. The Early Films……………………………………………………………..51 Film Magazine Issues (kinozurnali)……………………………………….. 59 Brali Kokari [The Brothers Kokari]……………………………………….. 80 Puikas, zirgos! [Boys, on Horses!]………………………………………… 84 Baltais Ave Sol [White Ave Sol]…………………………………………... 90 Strelnieku zvaigznajs [The Constellation of the Riflemen]………………… 93 Komandieris [The Commander]…………………………………………… 112 Vel Sizifs akmeni [Sisyphus Rolls His Stone]………………………….…… 120 3. The Mature Period…………………………………………………………. 137 Vai viegli but jaunam? [Is It Easy to Be Young?, 1986]…………………… 143 Mes? [Hello, Do You Hear Us? in the U.K., Soviets in the U.S., 1989]…………………………………………………... 161 Krustcels [Homeland in the U.K., A Baltic Requiem in the U.S., 1990]…………………………………….…. 172 Pecvards [Postscript, 1991]……………………………………………….. 190 Imperijas gals [End of the Empire, 1991]…………………………………. 204 Klusuma stunda [Moment of Silence (In Memoriam), 1992]………….…… 219 ix 4. Podnieks’s Living Legacy…………………………………………………..225 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….. 242 Filmography………………………………………………………………………... 267 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In recent decades and particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, cinema scholars have given a considerable amount of attention to Eastern European films and to filmmakers from this region.1 While much work remains to be done, a body of critical and historical scholarship exists on such national cinemas as those of Poland and Hungary. Furthermore, Eastern European filmmakers such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Andrzej Wajda, Jan Svankmajer, Istvan Szabo, Emir Kusturica, Milos Forman, and Dusan Makavejev, among others, continue to receive well-deserved academic attention. As the works of these artists have become more accessible since the fall of the Iron Curtain, a new awareness of the complexity and depth of Eastern European cinema appears to be emerging. 1 A current debate in cinema studies involves the question of whether one can employ the terms “Eastern European Cinema” without perpetuating a Cold-War inspired binary opposition between “East” and “West,” dictatorship and democracy, in an area featuring different cultures and diverse histories. I adopt film scholar Anikó Imre’s position within this discussion. She maintains: “In order to consider the cinematic developments of the region in their spatial and temporal continuity, it is necessary to keep