War, treachery, intolerance, coming of age, and forbidden love – in the films of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The third annual Boston Baltic Film Festival will take place on February 25 – 27, 2022. Films will be shown in person at the ArtsEmerson Paramount Center in downtown Boston, followed by online viewing, streaming directly to your home, Feb-ruary 28 – March 13, 2022. The Festival is organized by the Baltic Film Committee and the American Latvian National League (ALTS), in collaboration with ArtsEmerson.
The film industry in the three Baltic countries consistently produces films that garner awards in international festivals around the globe. Boston audiences will be able to engage with the filmmakers in Q&A sessions after film showings and a panel discussion on Saturday, February 26. For two weeks the films will be available to be viewed online.
The festival opens with “Dawn of War” (O2), an Estonian spy thriller set on the brink of WWII. A co-production of the three Baltic countries and Finland, it features an international cast, with a story line that echoes the current precarious situation in Eastern Europe. In this real-life story, an Estonian intelligence agent’s only means of preventing a catastrophic invasion by the Red Army at its borders, is to catch a Soviet double agent.
“The Bog” (Soo), a romantic thriller, based on Oskar Luts’s 1920 novel, is making its U.S. premiere. Set against the background of WWI and the Russian revolution, a young artist returns from Paris to his brother’s marshland farmstead, and discovers himself in the middle of a fight for love, with his own life at stake. As he clashes with the local brute, the young artist must also deal with his own insecurities, as well as his relationship with his brother and his former love.
“Firebird”, a touching love story set in the 1970s in occupied Estonia, is an exquisite work of art, showing that love does not ask about time or gender and can bloom even in the toughest of times. It is based on a true story about a high-risk personal relationship between a private and an officer in the Soviet military. They risk their freedom and their lives, as they face an escalating KGB investigation and constant surveillance by the Soviet authorities.
The Latvian and Lithuanian submissions for the 2022 Oscar Award are part of the lineup. “The Pit” touches upon transgender issues and Isaac examines the difficult historical context of the Holocaust and the post-war Soviet period. The second Lithuanian submission, a documentary film “The Jump” is about a local event in 1970 that drew international attention when a Lithuanian seaman attempted to defect to the U.S. Coast Guard off Martha’s Vineyard and was returned to the Soviets.
For the full line-up, show times, and more information please visit www.bostonbalticfilm.org or contact Marilem Ferentinos [email protected]
www.bostonbalticfilm.org
