Vitaly Manska’s film «Gorbachev. Paradise »will be on the big screens in late August / Article

The national premiere of the latest documentary “Gorbachev. Paradise” by the internationally known documentary filmmaker Vitaly Manski will take place on August 26 in Riga, at the Splendid Palace cinema, the representatives of the film informed. From August 27, the film is planned to be shown in Riga, Talsi, Kuldiga, Cesis, Madona and elsewhere.

“Gorbachev. Paradise” is a documentary about the changes that, caused by one man, resonated around the world. “The film depicts the life of a man who changed the world in the 20th century. The brief moment when Gorbachev was in power was marked by the collapse of his empire. He was the architect of Glasnost and Perestroika. These new policies gave the citizens of the Soviet Union the opportunity to become free in what Ronald Reagan called an “evil empire.” He demolished the Berlin Wall. However, at the same time, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant took place during his government, and this event was kept quiet. Citizens who demanded the independence of the Baltic States perished. Soldiers brutally suppressed protesters in Tbilisi. Soviet tanks drove on top of peaceful demonstrators in Baku and killed them. The Soviet empire collapsed under his leadership, and his own people condemned him. Carrying the burden of the past, this lonely old man lives in an empty house on the last day of his life in a suburb near Moscow, ”the film said in a statement.

Director Vitaly Manski says about his film: “I would like my film” Gorbachev. Paradise ”would not leave anyone indifferent, regardless of his place and time of birth.

Because the film is not so much about the history of the USSR as about the efforts of one person to give everyone Freedom. And about how some accepted this Freedom and others refused.

The film will definitely be interesting for the citizens and non-citizens of the Baltic States, as many are personally involved in the events that are being talked about or silenced by the first and last President of the USSR. ”

The world premiere of “Gorbachev. Paradise” took place in 2020 at the IDFA Documentary Film Festival, where he won the award for best feature film. The film has been praised and screened at several international festivals – Tallinn Black Nights (Estonia), Hong Kong IFF, CPH: DOX (Denmark), Visions du Réel (Switzerland), DOK.fest Munich (Germany), DocsBarcelona (Spain), “Sheffield Doc / Fest” (Great Britain), “It’s all true IDFF” (Brazil), etc. It is already known that the film will be shown in cinemas in the Balkans, USA and Canada. also TV channels BBC (Great Britain), NHK (Japan), “Al Jazeera” (Asia).

“Gorbachev. Paradise ”is a joint production of studios Vertov (Latvia) and HypermarketFilms (Czech Republic). The Latvian side of the film’s creative team is represented by sound director Anrijs Krenbergs, composer Kārlis Auzāns, editing director Jevgēņijs Ribalko, as well as director Vitalijs Manskis and producer Natālija Manska.

The film was made in collaboration with the TV channels “Arte” and “Настоящее время” and Czech television. The film was financially supported by the Latvian National Film Center and the Czech Film Foundation.

The story of the film’s creation can be traced in the LTV program “Latvian Films for Latvia Today”:

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