Hot Docs - Blueberry Spirits
Blueberry Spirits is a poetic documentary about a Roma family that spends its summers in the Latvian forests, picking berries to make a living. While harvesting the fruits of the forest, they reflect on their identity as a group by sharing ghost stories.
Interview with Director Astra Zoldnere
Watch Blueberry Spirits here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made the film to give voice to a marginalized community with a very rich European culture. So when I first met my characters in the forest I immediately felt that there is a special energy that holds everybody together. I stayed with the Roma family in the forest to find out more and I did discover a culture where time has a special meaning, where stories and characters from the past are as real as the events which happen in the present.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Our film is a mix between reality and a dream. What we learned while finishing the movie is how helpful it is to look at things from both sides and accept that realities shift, drift and slide and that this could be a way of negotiating the idea of community much more than rigid rules.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film portraits a community which keeps on their identity in our globalized world. This is a question to all of us, how to be here and now but not to forget who we are and where do we come from and what we could be rather than should.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I developed the movie over several years with the author Ron Rosenberg who encouraged me to follow a secret I deeply believe in and is part of my country, my culture and the way we approach people. The whole crew was ready to make a movie possible, that would follow accompany and question its subject rather than to repeat prejudice. I think we understood while doing what we were doing, what our work can do with people.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The film has started a good festival tour and received a lot of positive feedback from professionals but even more important for me is that we have showed the film to our Roma characters and they appreciated that we portrayed their specific culture and weren't looking for conflict based on our own prejudices.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
After finishing my movie I discovered that behind each story there are many, many other stories and secrets and I just started to find a way how to make them visible. The movie encouraged me to watch and listen more precisely to what is happening around me. Especially in regards to human rights which should mean that people are not expelled.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I try to share my experience approaching a culture with European origins that so far has been neglected by Europe, so I hope our film can make viewers curious as to how they approach that particular community and bring people together.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All of them. Please come, see our film and develop formats and stories that challenge the value of open societies.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
With our movie we try to transform attitudes on how people approach the big cultures of Sinti and Roma. I personally believe that the 21th century should bring people together in peace and starting with your neighbor might be good advice to start with. For me, that was to go out to our forests and share my experience with people nobody really took notice of.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Are you experienced (in approaching others)?
Would you like to add anything else?
Djelem, Djelem! The hymn of the Roma can be translated as "My journey". Where are we going is my question to all of you.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I work with the editor Astrida Konstante on our new documentary project on human relationships with rats. Like with the Roma film we want to change and challenge the stereotypes and prejudices people have about these animals. My author Ron Rosenberg is developing with me a pilot on trees, forests and the material wood and their values in western culture.
Interview: April 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Blueberry Spirits
Blueberry Spirits is a poetic documentary about a Roma family that spends its summers in the Latvian forests, picking berries to make a living. While harvesting the fruits of the forest, they reflect on their identity as a group by sharing ghost stories.
Length: 12 min 40 sec
Director: Astra Zoldnere
Producer: Kaspars Brakis (Fly For Film)
Writer: Ron Rosenberg
About the writer, director and producer:
Director Astra Zoldnere is a Latvian film director, curator and publicist. Her shorts "Blueberry Spirits" , "Treasures of the Sea” and "All My Dead” have been shown in many film festivals and have received prizes.
Writer: Ron Rosenberg is a Berlin based Swiss artist. His work is focused on community based work in progress. He is proud of his family.
Producer and cinematographer Kaspars Brakis has established a production company Fly For Film. As a cinematographer he is mainly known for films "People in White ", "Black Spawn" and "Angels of Death".
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueberrySpirits/
Funders: Latvian Culture Capital Fund
Where can I see it in the next month? At Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in Toronto. On 28th and 29th of Apirl.
After Hot Docs Blueberry Spirits travels to Moscow International Documentary Film Festival DOKer and International Documentary Film Festival CinéDoc-Tbilisi