December 7 (Mon) - 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Bishop Auditorium 
Lathrop Library
518 Memorial Way
Stanford University
 

BALTIC FILM SERIES AT STANFORD features the following films:

"Those Who Dare" (2015)
 
"Dangerous Summer" (2000)
 
"In the Crosswind" (2014)
 
"Land of Songs" (2015)
 
NOTE CHANGE OF TIME OF DECEMBER 7 EVENT: 6:00PM-8:30PM

 

Monday, October 19

Opening Event
"Those Who Dare" (2015) Film Screening with introduction by Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson.
 
"Those who dare" outlines the Baltic nations’ (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania’s) struggle for the restoration of their independence, from 1986-1991, Gorbachev's perestroika paving the way. 
 
Monday, November 2
"Dangerous Summer" (2000) Film Screening with introduction by Marta Mannenbach
 
Marta Mannenbach  (MA in Film and Television, the University of Nottingham, UK) is media and marketing specialist with a sweet spot for film. 
 
Set in Riga, the capital of Latvia, the film tells a tragic love story before and during the Soviet invasion of Latvia in 1940 and the early stages of World War II. It is a dangerous game, which leaves deep impact on the nations – their leaders and their people. 
 
Monday, November 16
"In the Crosswind" (2014) Film Screening with introduction by Uve Poom.
 
Uve Poom is the former CEO of the Unitas Foundation, an Estonian educational charity aimed at raising awareness of history and human rights in the 20th century. He is currently a Masters candidate at Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at Stanford University.
 
14 June 1941. Without warning tens of thousands of people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were removed from their homes. Without any sort of trial men faced being sent to prison camps and women and children were deported to Siberia. 
 
See here for more information about "In the Crosswind:"
http://www.plutofilm.de/films/in-the-crosswind/0007
 
Monday, December 7
"Land of Songs" (2015) Film Screening with introduction by director Aldona Watts. 
 
Bishop Auditorium
Lathrop Library
518 Memorial Way
6:00pm - 8:30pm
 
PROGRAM:

6:00-7:00pm Reception hosted by Consulate General of Lithuania in Los Angeles and Lithuania's Honorary Consul in San Francisco (Lathrop Library lobby)
7:00-8:00pm Screening of the film, "Land of Songs" (Bishop Auditorium)
8:00-8:30pm Q&A with the film director Aldona Watts (Bishop Auditorium)

Aldona Watts is a filmmaker interested in subjects relating to gender, music, and the intersections of folklore and counterculture. After releasing her first film "Land of Songs", she is currently working on new film projects in the Bay Area and New York.  
 
Aldona is an organizer at Her Girl Friday, a Brooklyn-based group that produces events for female-identified journalists and nonfiction storytellers. She hosted and produced a weekly radio show about punk music and culture that broadcasted in New York on WNYU FM and in Vilnius, Lithuania on Start FM, as well as from an undisclosed location in the Netherlands. She has produced audio documentaries about issues relating to gender, culture, and society in Lithuania, directed youth programs in broadcast media, and managed a youth radio station in Queens, New York. She graduated from New York University with an Interdisciplinary B.A. in Gender Studies, Art, and Media Studies.
 
In a region of Lithuania known as the "Land of Songs," five charming grandmothers are the bearers of their village's ancient folk singing tradition. Singing has nourished their lifelong friendships, and helped them to cope with decades of war and occupation. As the village's youth move away, the grandmothers struggle to keep their songs alive.  "Land of Songs" had its World Premiere at the Vilnius International Film Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania and its U.S. Premiere with the Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where it was awarded the Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award Honorable Mention. "Land of Songs" was selected for Independent Filmmaker Project's 2014 Spotlight on Documentaries at Film Week in New York and is fiscally sponsored by San Francisco Film Society.
 
See here for more information about "Land of Songs:"
http://www.landofsongs.com
 
Reception co-sponsored by Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in Los Angeles (Consul General Mr. Darius Gaidys), and Honorary Consul of Lithuania in San Francisco, Mr. Dennis Garrison.
 
RSVP requested. 

 

All film screenings are free and open to the public. 

The Baltic Film Series is co-sponsored by Stanford Libraries and Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

*With funding from the US Department of Education Title VI National Resources Centers Grant