From February 28, on-site at the Boston cinema "Paramount", and from March 3, on the online platform in the USA 7th Boston Baltic Film Festival will showcases 10 films from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, offering different and wide range of Baltic cinema.
The slogan of the Boston Baltic Film Festival is "Get to know the Baltic Soul”, the organization of the festival is supported by film institutions and diaspora organizations of the Baltic States.
The programme begins on Friday, February 28 , with an hour-long panel discussion “Meet the Baltic Filmmakers”, which will be attended by film directors and producers form the Baltics, next in the the program – the opening of the programme with the Latvian documentary Podnieks on Podnieks. Witness to History / Podnieks par Podnieku. Laika liecinieks (2024, directed by Antra Cilinska and Anna Viduleja), who has just received the national film award Lielais Kristaps in Latvia as the best feature-length documentary of the year. Referring to the year of Juris Podnieks announced in Latvia this year, a trilogy of documentaries will also be offered to U.S. moviegoers on the online platform, which consists of Jurs Podnieks' most famous film Is it easy to be young? / Vai viegli būt jaunam? (1986) and two sequels to it, created in 1997 and 2010 by Antra Cilinska, following the characters of the film found by Jurs Podnieks.
In the following days of the festival, three more Latvian films and two co-productions will be screened – on March 1, the program includes the family film Boom! / BUM! by Marta Selecka and Andra Doršs (2024) and animation film Flow / Straume by Gints Zilbalodis, whose screening will be followed by a reception in the honour of the next day's U.S. Academy Awards ceremony; On March 2, feature film Maria’s Silence / Marijas klusums by Dāvis Sīmanis (2024) will be screened. The program also includes the Lithuanian-Latvian co-production feature films Drowning Dry (2024) and Five and a Half Love Stories in a Vilnius Apartment (2024).
In the virtual section of the festival, where 21 film works will be available for viewing from March 3, part of the films will be available throughout North America, Latvia will be represented in this selection by the mini-series films Assistant / Asistente (2024, directed by Alise Zariņa and Liene Linde) and Freaky Fables / Briesmīgie stāstiņi (2024, six directors), the feature film Boom! and documentaries Patricia / Patrcīcija (directed by Dāvis Ernštreits and Inese Kļava), Tango of Life / Dzīves tango (directed by Erika Lifredo and Krista Burāne), Podnieks on Podnieks. A Witness to History / Podnieks par Podnieku. Laika liecinieks and Is It Easy to Be... trilogy (1986, 1997, 2010). Only in the territory of USA feature film Maria’s Silence / Marijas klusums will be available.
The Boston Baltic Film Festival is one of those cultural initiatives that was launched in the centenary year of Latvia. Since 2018, the festival successfully continues to promote Latvian and Baltic films in North America, attracting the attention of not only the diaspora, but also the inhabitants of Boston; In 2024, more than 1000 spectators attended the festival, and it is considered the best result so far in the existence of the festival.
The organizers of the festival are representatives of the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian diaspora in the USA, the festival is hosted by Aija Dreimane, born in Latvia, together with colleagues whose roots are in Lithuania and Estonia. The festival is supported by the American Latvian Association (ALA), the Culture Foundation of the World Association of Free Latvians (PBLA) and other important diaspora organizations, the film program is helped by the film centers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Festival Facebook account - https://www.facebook.com/BostonBalticFilmFestival/
Contacts: Aija Dreimane in Boston: +1 781 558 3814 | aija.dreimane@gmail.com / info@bostonbalticfilm.org