To the West/Eastern European Filmmakers in the West – Anita Uzulniece
During the Berlin International Film Festival, alongside the film “Marijas Klusums” by Latvian film studio “Mistrus Media”, a presentation of the book “To the West/East European Filmmakers in the West” ( German: “Westwaerts/ Osteuropaeische Filmschaffende in Westeuropa”) by Anita Uzulniece, Assistant Professor at RISEBA University, took place.
Presented on February 18 2024, “Maria’s Silence” is a historical drama based on the life of the famous theatre and film actress Maria Leyko, who travels to the Soviet Union to take care of her granddaughter and becomes a witness and victim of Stalin’s extermination of Latvians.
Associate Professor Anita Uzulniece has written a chapter in the book dedicated to the Latvian silent film star Maria Leiko, titled “Did her star shine in the cinema sky?” ( German: “Hat Ihr Stern Am Filmhimmel Geleuchtet?”). The book was published in Germany at the beginning of 2024.
Anita Uzulniece (1947) – Associate Professor at the RISEBA School of Business, Arts and Technology, Film Critic, Doctor of Arts.
The Berlin International Film Festival (German: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin) or Berlinale is one of the most important film festivals in the world.
It was first held in 1951 in West Berlin. Today, it is the most visited film festival in the world, with more than 270 000 tickets sold and 450 000 visitors.