Juris Podnieks
Juris Podnieks (December 5, 1950, Riga – June 23, 1992, Kuldīga District) was a Soviet/Latvian film director and producer.[1][2]
He graduated from the
He became a director in 1979.Podnieks' first film Cradle won an award at the
Podnieks gained international recognition with his movie was an exploration of Soviet youth, in which Podnieks talked to youngsters later convicted for criminal actions. The movie broke box-office records in the Soviet Union - something that rarely happened to documentaries.
As the Soviet Union collapsed, Podnieks cooperated with British television to give a first-hand insight on the events in the Soviet Union. Over three years, Podnieks filmed a five-part documentary titled Soviets or Hello, do you hear us? (Mēs? in Latvian). It showed civil unrest in
Later, Podnieks filmed movies that focused on the rise of national identity in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. His Homeland was an account of folk festivals in these countries when national songs which had been banned by the Soviet regime for 50 years, were sung by massed choirs. While filming a follow-up in January 1991, Podnieks and his crew came under sniper fire during the attempted coup by Soviet forces in Riga. Podnieks was beaten up, his cameraman and long-time friend Andris Slapiņš was killed and Gvido Zvaigzne, another collaborator and friend of Podnieks, died of injuries.[2][4] This was captured on video and shown as an addition to Homeland and later as an introduction for the revised version of this film.
Four of his films received the Lielais Kristaps prize as the best documentary of the year.
Juris Podnieks drowned on 23 June 1992 while scuba-diving in Zvirgzdu Lake near Alsunga in Courland.[2]
References
- ISBN 1442268425.
- ^ a b c Kaza, Juris (3 July 1992). "Obituary: Juris Podnieks". The Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Juris Podnieks". Latfilma.lv. Gilde film studio. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ ""Keep Filming" City Paper". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-05-08.