Opening Access to a Century of Cinema
To mark the 90th anniversary of celebrated Latvian film director, screenwriter, actor, writer, and painter Jānis Streičs, the National Film Centre of Latvia has updated its streaming collection on filmas.lv.
Archival Partnership and State Funding
The National Film Centre and the Latvian National Archive’s State Archives of Cinematographic and Photographic Documents expanded their multi-year collaboration to make Streičs’s early works accessible in Latvian.
Wartime Drama and Breakthrough Roles
Among these additions is Streičs’s second independent feature film, The valerian (1972). Set in Latvia during World War II, the film features a multilingual mix of Russian, Latvian, and German dialogue. The production stars actress Līga Liepiņa in her breakout role alongside Valentīns Skulme, Ivars Kalniņš, and Dina Kuple. Cinematographer Māris Rudzītis shot the film, while Ināra Antone designed the visual style as the Riga Film Studio’s first female art director.
Tragicomedy and First Collaborations
The collection also includes Streičs’s 1976 feature Master (The Master), which marked his first collaboration with actress Vija Artmane. Artmane plays Aina Petrovna, a tragicomic factory department head wearing a curly wig and reciting clichéd lines. Pēteris Gaudiņš stars as a young worker recently returned from army service, with newcomer Katrīne Pasternaka debuting in the role of Valentīna.
Charting the 1960s and 1970s Filmography
To provide a complete overview of Streičs’s early career and artistic development, the platform added several other key titles from the 1960s and 1970s, incorporating both his directorial projects and notable acting performances in films by other directors.
- Counting chickens in the fall (1973): Directed by Oļģerts Dunkers, this film is set in a rural vocational school. It stars Kārlis Sebris, Jānis Kaijaks, and Jānis Streičs as three contrasting educators guiding young tractor drivers.
- A Man in His Prime (1977): Another Oļģerts Dunkers film based on Zigmunds Skujiņš’s novel. Lithuanian actors Vītauts Tomkus and Vaiva Mainelīte star in this factory drama, where Streičs portrays a telephone factory director who controls the career of the protagonist, Alfrēds Turlavs.
- The Boys of Livsala (1969): Co-directed by Ēriks Lācis, this adaptation of Laimonis Vāczemnieks’ adolescent story addresses postwar secrets in a Riga suburban school.
- Shoot for Me (1970): Streičs’s first independent directorial feature follows a pacifist cinema projectionist. Streičs also makes his onscreen acting debut here as the false clergyman and gang leader Arsēnijs.
- The Trusty Friend Sancho (1974): An adventurous comedy directed by Streičs about a boy named Sančo who moves from Latin America to Latvia with his father, encountering snow and new classmates for the first time.
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