Rich in symbolism and meaning, with dark, brooding, existential overtones, Laila Pakalnina's two short black-and-white films have been produced against the odds in her native Latvia. A 1991 graduate from the Moscow Film Institute, she joins forces with her university contemporary, cinematographer Gints Berzins, to create a style of photomontage in an attempt to capture the essence of life in what she regards as "the soul-crushing suburbs".
Pakalnina's films defy genres or easy classification; the film critic for Diana, Latvia's largest national newspaper, Dita Rietuma, struggles to explain them. "They are art pieces - essays in which there are no scripts, no plots and no actors where the image predominates, and the result is more powerful than narrative or sound. These aren't quite 'documentaries', but maybe that label comes closest."
Pramis (The Ferry) is an examination of suburban life in Latvia. The film was shot on location in Riga, but Pakalnina's focus is to present an overview rather than concentrate on the specific: the city itself is not important, it is the quality of life. "The film could have been shot in any suburb of the world," says Rietuma. "What Pakalnina is suggesting is that it is a poor and ugly life, and the inhabitants deserve better."
In the second film, Pasts (The Mail), Pakalnina continues the theme. She sees the morning post in the suburbs as a potent symbol of Latvian isolation. "Elsewhere, the morning post is a point of contact with the outside world, but in Riga, this line of communication is bankrupt; people rarely receive or send post," Rietuma elaborates.
The collapse of the Soviet Union (including its film industry and the pivotal role it played in funding) has left the nascent film industries of its satellites in a dismal state - as bleak, in fact, as Pakalnina's vision. She describes her success at raising finance for her films as "some kind of magic", and although she received a small government subsidy and a contribution from the George Soros fund, the production team had no salary. Cannes offers her the first opportunity to reach an audience outside her homeland.
Geoff Smith
Prod Co: Film Studio Kaupo
Prod: Liga Jansome
Dir: Laila Pakalnina
Ph: Gints Berzins
Ed: Gunta Ikere (Pramis)/Sandra Alksne (Pasts)
Running time: 16mins
International sales: Vilnis Kalnaellis
