Latvijas Hronika

The first archive images in Latvia date back to 1910. The most famous pioneers were Reinhold Doreds (1881-1954), who had learned the trade at Pathé in 1906, and Edouard Tissé (real name Edouard Kissis, 1857-1962), who was born in Liepaja and worked for Einsenstein, who himself was born and raised in Riga. Since the 1920s, the Chronicle of Latvia – a montage of filmed newsreels – has captured the life and events of the country on film. An irreplaceable historical testimony, it also demonstrates the mastery of image that Latvian operators had. From 1944 to 1989, it was called Padomju Latvijas, Soviet Latvia, and reverted to its original title in 1989. The Riga Documentary Studio normally produced 48 chronicles a year. In 1996, budgets only allowed for the filming of five tapes. In February 1997, nothing was yet under way.

Extracts shown: Apprentices in the Country (1935) / Apprentices in the Navy (1935) / Fishing (1955) / The Shoe Factory (1955) / The Human Chain (1991)