Aivars Freimanis
The Boy
Puika
USSR, 1977
Late 1800s in Latvia. Little servant boy Jancis lives on a farmstead with his mother, grandfather and grandmother. His world does not reach much further than the horizon and his life progresses according to the seasonal changes – from winter through spring, summer and autumn to the day when servants have to leave their master for a new one. The film is based on the short story collection Baltā grāmata (The White Book) by Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš. It was the first film to receive the prize of the Latvian Filmmakers’ Union, Lielais Kristaps, as the best film of the year.
Director Aivars Freimanis who died this year (8.02.1936. – 24.01.2018.) was a classic of the Latvian poetic cinema, author of several important works in the Latvian film history. In 2012, he received the lifetime achievement award of the national film festival Lielais Kristaps and his feature Ābols upē (Apple in the River, 1974) is included in the Latvian Culture Canon.
Script: Aivars Freimanis, Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš (novel), Imants Ziedonis
Camera: Dāvis Sīmanis
Cast: Indars Lācis, Zigrīda Lorence, Pēteris Martinsons, Māra Rence, Ilze Vazdika
Producer: RĪGAS KINOSTUDIJA
Restored by STUDIJA LOKOMOTĪVE
