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"Baltic Cinema Days" opens in Vilnius with film on Polish activist in Latvia

27.08.2024 15:00
The "Baltic Cinema Days" festival kicks off in Vilnius on Tuesday, with the opening film focusing on the life of Ita Kozakiewicz, a prominent Polish social activist in Latvia.
Screen grab from the trailer of My Freedom.
Screen grab from the trailer of "My Freedom".youtube.com/@tassefilm4958

The Lithuanian-Latvian production, titled My Freedom, explores the significant contributions of Kozakiewicz, who played a crucial role in Latvia's struggle for independence.

Born in Riga in 1955 to a mixed Latvian-Polish family, Kozakiewicz was the founder and first chairwoman of the Union of Poles in Latvia and served as a member of Latvia's Supreme Council. On May 4, 1990, she cast her vote for Latvia's independence, solidifying her place in the country's history. In recent years, her legacy has been further honored with a monument in Jekabpils and a street in Riga named after her. Kozakiewicz also serves as the patron of a Polish school in the Latvian capital.

Following the screening of My Freedom, audiences will have the chance to meet the actors who portrayed the key roles in the film. The festival will continue with a variety of films, including the documentary Homo Sovieticus, a Lithuanian-Latvian-Czech co-production that delves into the lingering effects of totalitarianism. The festival will conclude on Thursday with the Estonian comedy Invisible Struggle.

This year marks the eighth edition of the "Baltic Cinema Days," with all films being shown at the Martynas Mažvydas Lithuanian National Library in Vilnius.

(jh)

Source: IAR