BRIDGES OF TIME is a meditative filmic essay in the tradition of Baltic poetic documentary that emerged in the 1960s. Paired with three short films, this series reflects on the poetic non-fiction filmmaking in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a form of resistance to the material realities of political oppression under the Soviet Union.
Series programmed by Samantha Bodamer (Cinema Studies, Russian & Slavic Studies) as part of the Mellon Public Humanities Scholars Program at Hunter College. Presented in partnership with the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Centre of Latvia, Lithuanian Film Centre, and Meno Avilys. Special thanks to the State Culture Capital Foundation in Latvia.
Special guest, Zane Balčus, is a film scholar, curator, critic, and co-author of several books on Latvian cinema. She is currently the Project Manager of Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries based in Riga, Latvia.
Samantha Bodamer is a student at Hunter in the CUNY BA Program, majoring in Russian & Slavic Studies and Cinema Studies. As a Mellon Public Humanities Scholar, she conducted archival film research in Latvia. In Fall 2023, she will continue her work as a Ph.D. student at the University of Pittsburgh (Film Studies, with a concentration in Slavic).
Documentary Feature
Bridges of Time (2018) | Dir. Kristīne Briede and Audrius Stonys | 80 min.
Short Films
Estonia | 511 Best Photographs of Mars (1968) | Dir. Andres Sööt | 15 min.
Latvia | White Bells (1961) | Dir. Ivars Kraulītis | 24 min.
Lithuania | The Dreams of the Centenarians (1969) | Dir. Robertas Verba | 17 min.