The film “The Fathers Over There” shows the fates of those who survived the camps. The characters of the film tell about the period from 1940, when Latvia was occupied, to the time of the barricades in 1991 and to the present day.
The fathers and husbands of Latvia deported in the deportation of 1941 ended up in Vyatlag and Solikamska camps, the film “Where did the fathers go?” tells about it. In the film, we will see the Astrakhan prison, where Mārtiņš Bisters was imprisoned, the Vladimir prison, where Gunārs Rode was imprisoned in solitary confinement for many years, the camp administration could not accept his spirit of resistance. Karl Chika-Grinert spent 25 years in prison because he pleaded not guilty. In 1954, in Kazakhstan, in Tzheskazgan, there was an uprising, men’s and women’s camps were built together, they lasted 40 days, then tanks and shooters destroyed more than 1000 prisoners. Ausma Vērpe met her future husband during the uprising, they were lucky to survive. Musician Siegfried Muktupavel’s dream was to find his father’s brother’s grave in distant Kazakhstan. He got his name in honor of his uncle. “Just imagining the tombstone with the engraving “Zigfrīds Muktupāvels” makes me sick.” Agris Šefers returned to Latvia after 10 years of imprisonment, took part in the barricades, lives in an unfinished house and says …”everything for Latvia, until the last drop of blood, until the last drop of sweat, everything for Latvia…” The next deportation took place in 1949. The families were taken to Siberia. The fathers were tried, many ended up in penal camps in Vorkut and Inta. Skaidrīte Jostmane and Māris Landers walk around Vorkuta, but do not find their father’s grave.
Director and producer Dzintra Geka
Screenplay by Eriks Lanss
Operators Aivars Lubānietis, Viktors Gribermans
Editing and sound director Armands Zvirbulis
Music by Pēteris Vasks
(c) Studio SB, 2016. 63′
On May 4, 2016, as part of the Latvian film marathon organized by the National Cinema Center in the “Splendid Palace” cinema, the premiere screening of the documentary film “The Fathers Over There” in the cinema Splendid Palace at 2:30 p.m. After May 4, the film was screened in the Latvian Cinematographers Union (LKS) project CINEMA FOR EVERYONE AND EVERYWHERE IN LATVIA. On June 14, 2016, the film premiered on LTV1.