CENTENARY OF LATVIA THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

Abstract

Article “Centenary of Latvia Through the Eyes of a Child” focuses on the re- cent history of Latvian cinema – programme “Latvian Films for Centenary of Lat- via” (LV100) –, within framework of which 16 full-length films were made. For the first time in the history of the independent Latvia the films made in 2018 have been watched by more than half a million spectators. The main characters in several films from this programme are children and they offer a chance to view various events from the perceptual vantage point of a child. Author analyses numerous films of the programme (“Bille”, “Paradise 89”, “The Mover”, “To Be Continued”) in the context of representation of children’s experience in cinema and focuses on the different cine- matic approaches used by the authors of the films to communicate stories about the history of Latvia. Does the principle of choosing a child as the central image of the film signal the desire of the Latvian film directors to observe historical processes with a child’s eyes?