The First Bridge
Laila Pakalniņa / Latvia / 2020 / Czech Premiere / 11 min.
synopsis
“Krāslava Bridge is the first bridge over the river Daugava in the territory of Latvia — a gate for the Daugava river from Belarus to Latvia” says the opening title of the film in which a strategically built and historically significant construction holds a number of different meanings. An analytical documentary immortalised in a series of suggestive, black-and-white, static shots and sounds brings us closer to the life of the bridge in all its heaviness and lightness from various angles: through the eternally flowing river it arches over, we witness the endless movement of car traffic and pedestrians walking between two river banks as well as the call of the wild within close proximity to the manifestations of human civilisation, for which it serves as a symbolic backdrop.
"The special thing about the documentary is the fact that we shot it on the leftovers of a 21-year-old 35mm negative. And it really worked. It looks great.” L. Pakalniņa
biography
Laila Pakalnina (1962) is a graduate of the Moscow Film School VGIK and is among the most famous Latvian filmmakers. Her documentaries have won a number of international awards, including the Golden Bear in Berlin for the short film The Water (2006). The Jihlava Festival also presented her films The Chimney (2013), Short Film about Life (2014) and Dream (2016). In 2017, she was a juror of the Opus Bonum section.more about film
director: | Laila Pakalniņa |
producer: | Laila Pakalnina |
photography: | Gints Berzins |
editing: | Silvija Vilkaite |
sound design: | Anrijs Krenbergs |
contact
Laila Pakalnina
Riga / Latvia
+37129235618
laila.pakalnina@inbox.lv
Film at festival
premiere type: | Czech Premiere |
festival edition: | 2020 |
section: | Constellations |
format: | DCP 25fps |
subtitles: | English |
colour: | Black and white |
Info
director: | Laila Pakalniņa |
original title: | Pirmais tilts |
country: | Latvia |
year: | 2020 |
running time: | 11 min. |