Is It Easy to Be Young?

The film is a sequel of the legendary documentary “Is It Easy To Be Young?”, which was created in the year 1986 by Juris Podnieks. You once again meet the heroes from the first film. How their lives have changed, have their dreams fulfilled? The film received prize in Leipzig film festival, FIPRESSI prize, nominated for Prix Europa.

In 1986, Juris Podnieks made his film "Is it easy to be young?". The film became extremely popular and very soon was shown in 85 countries, which was a tremendous success for a Latvian film. It was even regarded as "the first bird of Perestroika". In 1998 the follow up film was made. It was extremely interesting to find out how the new economic system after the fall of the Soviet regime in Latvia had changed the lives of the persons filmed 10 years ago. "Is it easy to be...? After 10 years" also got an international recognition. The question 20 years later was- does anything change in this world or perhaps there are things that never change?! What has become of these brave youngsters who had once helped to destroy the Soviet system and who are now the generation of forty?

The film is an emotional story about fateful historical events in the 20th century, which took place in three Baltic countries- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The story is also about their efforts to regain independence.

A cinematic portrait of the actress and performer Vija Armane.

A 1981 documentary film directed by Yuri Ozerov. It showed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. The director was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1982. The film was selected as the Soviet entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 54th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

In this ten-minute documentary experiment, director Herz Frank films a group of children watching a puppet show, keeping the camera fixed on their faces in a single continuous shot. The performance itself remains unseen, while the children’s shifting expressions—fear, laughter, curiosity, and suspense—suggest the story unfolding before them as ten minutes of their lives quietly pass.

An autobiographical work from Herz Frank. Images guide us through the countries in which he worked, interspersed with fragments from his earlier films: births, autopsies, circumcisions, prisoners awaiting execution and other shocking themes.

A series of documentaries exploring life in the Soviet Union during the glasnost era of the late 1980s.

A collective portrait of the Latvian Red Riflemen is made up of memories told by the old men themselves. Unique and harsh are their destinies during the World War I and the revolution, at the opposite fronts of civil war, in 1930s. The victories of the Riflemen, their courage, confidence, pain and tragedy. The authors of the film have been able to save these tales from the relentless flow of time and make everyone realise the role of the Latvian Riflemen in history and nation.

Afterword for the film "Homeland" - January 1991. Death of Andris Slapiņš and Gvido Zvaigzne.

A film portrait of the poet Ojars Vacietis.

A film about teenagers- pentathlates and their coaches.

The life of a 16 yearo-old convict through the Soviet penal system. The "restricted area" is a penal colony and Borstal, a "work camp" for delinquent children and young people. The film shows the contradictions in the notion of corrective education.

The director mixes excerpts from his documentaries Soviets and Homeland with footage of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

A documentary on elderly Naivist painters in 90ies Latvia. These people find a lot of joy and harmony in their amazing creations even if they might not know a lot about the conventional art.

A film about the well-known Latvian artists, choir conductors - Imants and Gido Kokars.

A film about the former partisan commander Vilis Samsons.