From September 20th to 24th, the Zuzeum Art Centre's Living Room will host a retrospective of Laima Žurgina's works titled 'Piecas dienas septembrī'. Prior to the film screenings included in this retrospective, renowned filmmaker and co-author of 'Laika tilti' Kristīne Briede, and film scholar Zane Balčus will provide context through documentary film discussions. Additionally, the director herself will share her memories, blending humor with behind-the-scenes insights of filmmaking.

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 "The Zuzeum team is honored and excited to welcome Laima Žurgina's friends, colleagues, admirers of her talent, and documentary film enthusiasts to Zuzeum in celebration of Laima's jubilee film screening in the cozy Living Room. We look forward to five evenings with everyone who wishes to reminisce, appreciate, or, on the contrary, discover a significant part of Laima Žurgina's rich cinematic legacy. I deeply appreciate the director's trust and her belief that Zuzeum is the right place for showcasing Latvian cinematic classics," emphasizes Melisa Debora Ka&scaron;kura, the project manager at the Zuzeum Art Centre.
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 "Laima Žurgina is a director with an innate sense of culture and a refined style. She is demanding, forged in the rough forge of Riga Film Studio. She never allowed herself to be overshadowed by the dominant geniuses of that time and created her own cinema," notes Kristīne Briede, co-director of the documentary 'Laika tilti' (2018). In the 1960s, young documentary filmmakers in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia found a way to speak about their era in the conditions of Soviet censorship while seeking answers to timeless questions. It was during this time that Laima Žurgina began her work at Riga Film Studio. Uldis Cekulis, producer of 'Laika tilti', commented: "Laima is a true cinema professional with a refined style in everything, strong vitality, while also being demanding of herself and others! Her phenomenal memory, which vividly recalls behind-the-scenes details of films down to the smallest detail, combined with healthy self-reflection, is truly admirable."
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The jubilee program 'Piecas dienas septembrī' featuring Laima Žurgina will kick off on September 20th at 19:00 with the full-length documentary '235 000 000', directed by Uldis Brauns, with Laima Žurgina and Biruta Veldre as co-directors, screenplay by Hercs Franks, cinematography by Ralfs Krūmiņ&scaron;, Valdis Kroģis, Rihards Pīks, Uldis Brauns, and music by Raimonds Pauls. This poetic documentary masterpiece of Riga's documentary cinema is recorded in world cinema history but emerged as a paradox&mdash;a film initially conceived by authorities as a jubilee movie turned into a universal and philosophical poem about the pivotal moments in everyday human life: first steps, the first day of school, first love, weddings, and the continuation of the family. The filmmakers traveled from the Baltic Sea to Kamchatka, seeking the unique and distinctive in Georgia, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Siberia, and the small nations of the Far East.
On September 21st at 19:00, portrait films will be showcased under the program 'Pazīstamas sejas'. Each film, with a format of 10 or 20 minutes, presents a concentrated and substantive form to convey the essence. The protagonists of these films include Ojārs Vācietis ('Ceturtā dimensija', 1977), Imants Ziedonis ('Imants Ziedonis. Portrets locījumos', 1979), Džemma Skulme ('Džemma&rsquo;, 1986) un Raimonds Pauls ('Raimons Pauls. Portrets ar mūziku', 1977), and Andris Grīnbergs. In the film 'Neglītais pīlēns &ndash; cilvēka bērns' (1985), a well-known fashion designer and the king of Riga's hippie scene works as a teacher at the Mazirbe auxiliary school, dedicating his creative spirit to children and young people whom society &ndash; officials, educators, parents &ndash; has pushed "far from sight" and predetermined that their lives after primary school will be filled with manual labor. The film garnered international interest and awards at film festivals, sparking discussions among educators and psychologists.
On the evening of September 22nd, two films grouped under the title 'Politiskais sānsolis' will be screened: 'Tie ir arī mani dēli' (1990) and '1988. gada vasaras hronika' (1988). In the mid-1980s, with Mikhail Gorbachev's initiation of "perestroika," there was a belief that the long era of hypocrisy was coming to an end. During this period, the movement of soldier's mothers, which protested against the widespread phenomenon of extramarital relationships or "gedovshchina" in the Soviet army, gained momentum. Many young conscripts, drafted into compulsory military service during peacetime, perished in unclear circumstances. The film was shot not only in Latvia but also in other Soviet regions, with many victims coming from Ukraine. 'Tie ir arī mani dēli' gained wide recognition and awards at international film festivals (Cannes, L&uuml;beck, Mannheim, Yekaterinburg, Oberhausen, Kagoshima, etc.) and was broadcast on TV channels such as SAT3, ZDF, YLE1, RTV1, and others. '1988. gada vasaras hronika' follows the format of a cinema journal and captures the early events of the Third Awakening in Latvia: the legendary plenary meeting of the Creative Union on June 1-2, events at the Freedom Monument, the general rehearsal of the rock opera "Lāčplēsis" in Burtnieki, and more. The background text is authored by Dainis Īvāns.
On September 23rd at 19:00, the film 'Mana mīļā Rīga' (2003) will be screened. The authors aimed to leave a testimony for future generations about what Latvia's capital and its people were like during a highly significant time&mdash;when not only centuries but millennia were changing! Each story that forms the portrait of Riga preserves the testimony of a Riga resident about their domain: Art Nouveau expert and architect Jānis Krastiņ&scaron;, and the most titled Latvian athlete of all time, Jānis Lūsis; Riga Airport architect Andris Kronbergs and the world-famous violin virtuoso Gidon Kremer with the chamber orchestra 'Kremerata Baltica', among many others. Tērbatas Street festivities, the unveiling of the Rumbula Memorial, Orthodox Easter, hockey fans, and the Song Festival with the participation of Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and composers Mārtiņ&scaron; Brauns and Uldis Stabulnieks.

On Laima Žurgina's birthday, September 24th, at 15:30, a generational portrait film titled 'Kaza kāpa debesīs' (2019) will be screened. This film is considered the director's autobiography as it "narrates the time in which we had to live and the time we didn't choose." It was a period when the Iron Curtain separated the Western and Eastern worlds, and young people were denied the freedom to travel, restricted in receiving information from the wider world, and constrained in expressing themselves in ways that diverged from the official ideology. However, it's a paradox that these restrictions encouraged the gathering of free-thinking "nonconformist" Soviet youth at the small caf&eacute; in Vecrīga with the informal name 'Goat', helping them find their creative paths and establish a lasting presence in Latvian culture. There are many such personalities: Imants Lancmanis and Imants Kalniņ&scaron;, Maija Tabaka and Biruta Delle, Māra Ķimele and Māra Bra&scaron;mane, Modris Tenisons and Laima Eglīte, Jānis Rokpelnis and Uldis Bērziņ&scaron;, Juris Zvirgzdiņ&scaron; and Augustīns Delle, Eižens Valpēteris and Mudīte Gai&scaron;evska... "I won't name them all," says L. Žurgina.
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 "Laima Žurgina's films and documentaries showcase the director's unique perspective on artists and the perception of the art world, which is very close to her. Choosing to follow her own path and explore themes that are personally significant, rather than simply following demand or trends, that's the essence of director Laima Žurgina, whose work in various genres can be appreciated in this program," describes Zane Balčus.
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In L. Žurgina's jubilee program, the films have been restored to their original quality, provided by the Latvian National Archives. Many of them ('Ceturtā dimensija&rsquo;, 'Imants Ziedonis. Portrets locījumos&rsquo;, Džemma&rsquo;, &lsquo;Raimonds Pauls: Portrets ar mūziku&rsquo;, &lsquo;Neglītais pīlēns &ndash; cilvēka bērns&rsquo;, '1988. gada vasaras hronika&rsquo;, &lsquo;Mana mīļā Rīga&rsquo;, 'Kaza kāpa debesīs') have English subtitles. The ticket price is 8 euros, with a half-price option for students and pensioners (4 euros). Tickets for each screening can be purchased in advance at zuzeum.com and at Zuzeum ticket counter, with a limited number of seats. Laima Žurgina's jubilee film program is created by the 'VFS Films' studio and the Zuzeum Art Centre with the support of the State Cultural Capital Fund, 'Valmiermuiža', and the Latvian National Archives.

Photographs from the Latvian National Archives and Laima Žurgina's document collection.

Laima Žurgina's Jubilee Cinema Program 'Piecas dienas septembrī'

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