Raits Valters

A film about a unique personality with an unbreakable spirit – Gunārs Astra. He can be considered as Latvian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn or Václav Havel. Twenty years he spent in Soviet prisons because of anti-government thinking. In a 1983 trial by the Latvian SSR, Astra said, “I believe this time will fade like an evil nightmare.” The fate of Gunārs Astra himself was tragic. Like Alexei Navalny in Russia, Astra was poisoned with tea on a train to Saint Petersburg. A week later, Gunārs Astra died. Astra’s death became a symbol of light on the long road to the restoration of Latvia’s independence.

A documentary about Latvian partisans ("forest brothers") who were fighting against the Soviet occupation long after the end of WWII.

Among hundreds of other ethnic groups, Jews have always had a special status. Some admire them, others hate them, and everyone has their own opinion about Jews. This is a story about Latvian Jews who try to observe ancient Jewish traditions and preserve their Jewish identity. It is not an easy task, living in the 21st century, so far from the Promised Land.