On December 5, the documentary “Light Up Latvia” (“Izgaismot Latviju”) premiered at the “Splendid Palace” cinema.
The film and the exhibition “Izgaismot Latviju” are a gift to Latvia on its centenary from the Imants Ziedonis Museum and BlueOrange Bank. Before the premiere of the film, the gift was symbolically received on behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia (VARAM) by its Parliamentary Secretary Jānis Eglītis.
The film is a story created by director Jānis Rēdlihs, as well as students and teaching staff of RISEBA University of Applied Sciences, looking back at three and a half years of expeditions around Latvia, involving thousands of Latvian residents and 43 local municipalities in the Latvian border area. The culmination of the project took place on June 21 as part of a nationwide campaign called “Light Up Latvia” (“Izgaismo Latviju”) dedicated to the centenary of Latvia. During the campaign, each person was invited to walk one kilometre of their chosen section of the route along the state border in honour of the centenary of Latvia. As a result of the expeditions, a route has been established and called “Road 1836” – it runs around our country and allows you to get to know the beauties of the Latvian border area.
“Over the course of three years, a huge amount of photo and video materials about Latvia and its people have been collected. This represents an incredible cultural and historical value that should not be lost. Therefore, we are honoured to participate in this ambitious project, contributing to the creation of the film and the exhibition, and in this way preserving valuable documentary evidence for the future,” BlueOrange Bank CEO Dmitrijs Latiševs noted when symbolically presenting the gift.
The Light Up Latvia campaign and hiking tours organized by the Foundation 1836 and supported by the Imants Ziedonis Museum have also been captured in photographs, from which the curator Velga Vītola helped to create a thematic exhibition. Starting next year, the photo exhibition, along with the film, will begin its journey throughout the country and will be shown in the border regions of Latvia.
““Izgaismot Latviju” is a tribute to Latvia and its people, and tells the story of the “Road 1836” exploring the route around Latvia and the people who devoted their time and energy to this idea. This is also a story about what Latvia is like, as seen by the participants on their way. This film is a unique legacy for future generations, it summarizes what the Latvian border area was like during these three years, and also tells the story about us, the people of Latvia, what we were like. The fact that the Imants Ziedonis Museum is involved in the creation of the film is also unique. I am proud that we can call ourselves the first museum in Latvia under whose auspices a full-length documentary film and exhibition have been created,” says Žanete Grende, representing the Board of Trustees of the Imants Ziedonis Museum.