Baltic Event Works in Progress
Maria's Silence
A powerful historical drama based on the true story of Maria Leiko, famous actress who late in her career has to decide between fame and love for her grandchild, between her ideals or the lies of Stalin’s totalitarian regime.
A powerful historical drama based on the true story of Maria Leiko, famous actress who late in her career has to decide between fame and love for her grandchild, between her ideals or the lies of Stalin’s totalitarian regime.
It is 1935. The former silent cinema and theater star in Germany Marija Leiko goes to the Soviet Union to take care of her granddaughter. The way back to Latvia leads through Moscow where her former friends talk her into staying in Moscow for one season to perform with the Latvian theater “Skatuve”. Leiko is ready to once again experience the working atmosphere of the theatre, yet soon enough she becomes aware of the violent character or the regime under its “new life” façade. A year later, as the NKVD-organized “national operation” begins, her friend Zakovskis is put in charge of it. Should the famous actress admit to anti-Soviet activities, it would be proof positive to Latvian disloyalty to the regime. Albeit in the dark about the fate of her granddaughter, who has been kidnapped by the NKVD, Leiko cannot admit to “crimes” she has not committed. She is forced to play her life’s most tragic role – an innocent victim destroyed along thousands of other Latvians in soviet Russia.
Director's note:
Characters Marija Leiko played, as well as her style and expression in acting, were not only a reflection of her political views and avant-garde sensibilities but, in a sense, led to the tragic result of her life. She had experienced the most progressive period of the 20th century, playing in Friedrich Wilhelm’s film Satan (1919) or on stage at Erwin Piscator’s German political theatre. She dreamed of an ideal society where everyone’s rights would be honoured and the majority of people were not condemned to a miserable existence. Her attempts to take a stance against the brutality of the totalitarianism of the interwar period led her to her death. Leiko was an individual who ended up taking a position against the powers that be and, as historically tends to be the case, lost. Marija Leiko’s story is outstanding material both to reveal the scale of cruelty with which people interacted under a demonic political regime, and the biography of a strong person and outstanding actress.
Dāvis Sīmanis, PhD Arts, is a Latvian filmmaker and theorist. He has written and directed historical feature films, poetic documentary films and cross-genre features. His docu-fiction Escaping Riga (2014) is a story of two geniuses - philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin and film director Sergei Eisenstein, premiered internationally at IDFA 2014 and is still screened at documentary film festivals worldwide. Feature fiction film The Mover (2018) - the true story of the “Latvian Schindler” Žanis Lipke, was Latvia’s official candidate for best foreign-language film for the 2020 Oscars and premiered internationally at Moscow IFF, received National Film awards: Best Director; Best Production design; Best Cinematography; Best Supporting Actress.
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Since founding Mistrus Media in 2000, Gints Grūbe has been producing documentaries, features and TV programmes. ‘Escaping Riga’, by D. Sīmanis a docu-drama following a unique friendship between the Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein and the British philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin (2014), it participated in many FF around the world, including CPX Docs, IDFA panorama, Tallinn Black Nights. ‘My Father the Banker’ by I. Ozoliņa telling the story of banking crises in the Baltic States became the most watched documentary in Latvia in 2015. ’Chronicles of Melanie’, dir. V. Kairish, premiered in Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2016, ‘To Be Continued’, dir. Ivars Seleckis premiered at Visions du Reel 2018, ‘My Father The Spy’, co-directed by Gints and Jaak Kilmi premiered at Sheffield IFF 2019.
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