Elza Gauja’s A Postcard from Rome crowned Best Feature at this year’s Lielais Kristaps
- It was also a great night for filmmaker Staņislavs Tokalovs, whose works earned five prizes in total at the Latvian National Film Awards
On Sunday 4 February, the annual ceremony for the Latvian National Film Awards Lielais Kristaps was held in Riga. This year’s edition saw the triumph of Elza Gauja’s A Postcard from Rome [+see also:
film review
film profile], crowned Best Feature. The picture is a touching love story between two senior postal workers, played by local stars Jānis Jarāns and Indra Burkovska.
Moreover, it was a fabulous night for filmmaker Staņislavs Tokalovs, whose latest works earned him five statuettes. In detail, the series Soviet Jeans [+see also:
series review
series profile], which he co-directed with Juris Kursietis (see the news), received three awards, including Best TV Series, Best Scriptwriter and Best Actor in a Leading Role. The latter was bestowed upon Kārlis Arnolds Avots for the second time in a row. In 2023, Avots scooped the gong for his main role in Viesturs Kairišs’s coming-of age drama January [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].
Meanwhile, two more awards went to Tokalovs’ documentary Everything Will Be Alright – namely, the Prizes for Best Documentary and for Best Editing, the latter of which was handed to Stefan Stabenow.
Next, the Award for Best Director went to Aik Karapetian’s feature The Brazen [+see also:
film review
film profile], billed by the Riga International Film Festival as “a family portrait against the backdrop of entomological horror”. The picture also scooped the gongs for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Original Score.
Finally, two thesps from Ilze Kunga-Melgaile’s My Freedom [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Latvia/Lithuania) were also rewarded: Ērika Eglija-Grāvele (Best Leading Actress) and Darius Meškauskas (Best Actor in a Supporting Role). The historical drama is based on the real-life story of Ita Kozakevica (played by Eglija-Grāvele), a Polish-born journalist and politician who was one of the most prominent voices in the late 1980s Latvian independence movement and national revival.
Here is the list of this year’s award winners:
Best Feature Film
A Postcard from Rome [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Elza Gauja
Best TV Series
Soviet Jeans [+see also:
series review
series profile] - Staņislavs Tokalovs, Juris Kursietis
Best Director
Aik Karapetian - The Brazen [+see also:
film review
film profile]
Best Scriptwriter
Teodora Markova, Staņislavs Tokalovs, Waldemar Kalinowski - Soviet Jeans
Best Leading Actress
Ērika Eglija-Grāvele - My Freedom [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Latvia/Lithuania)
Best Leading Actor
Kārlis Arnolds Avots - Soviet Jeans
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sabīne Tīkmane - Black Velvet (Latvia/Lithuania)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Darius Meškauskas - My Freedom
Best Debut Film
Breathing Underwater - Ronalds Mežmačs
Best Animated Film
Rule of the Heart - Roze Stiebra
Special Mention for an Animated Film
In the End - Linda Stūre
Best Documentary
Everything Will Be Alright - Staņislavs Tokalovs
Best Short Fiction Film
Resistance Is Futile - Armands Začs
Best Documentary Short Film
Full Moon Serenade - Mārcis Ābele, Lauris Ābele
Best Documentary Director
Marta Herca - It’s Only Now We Begin
Best Cinematography
Jurģis Kmins - The Brazen
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Film
Yevhen Titarenko, Ivan Fomichenko - Eastern Front [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titar…
film profile] (Latvia/Ukraine/Czech Republic/USA)
Best Director of an Animated Film
Roze Stiebra - Rule of the Heart
Best Production Design in an Animated Film
Aleksejs Naumovs - Rule of the Heart
Best Editing
Stefan Stabenow - Everything Will Be Alright
Best Production Design
Aldis Meinerts - The Brazen
Best Original Score
Ivars Arutjunjans - The Brazen
Best Sound
Ģirts Bišs - In the End
Best Costumes
Jaanus Vahtra, Berta Vīlipsone - The Invisible Fight [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Estonia/Greece/Latvia/Finland)
Best Make-up Artist
Gunda Zvirbule - Soviet Milk (Latvia/Belgium)
Best Student Film
Confessions of My Childhood Body - Emīlija Karetņikova
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