Latvia selects “Dawn” for foreign-language Oscars categorySeptember 26, 2016 - 11:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Latvia has submitted Laila Pakalnina's Dawn, a black and white reworking of a Soviet legend that is both a critique of Communism and tribute to the filmmaking of the time, to the Oscars in the foreign-language category, The Hollywood Reporter reveals. Based on the 1920s story of Pavel Morozov — a Young Communist who informs on his corrupt peasant father and is murdered for his ideological pains — Pakalnina was also inspired by early Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein's unfinished Bezhin Meadows, that was also based on the same story but shelved in murky circumstances. Pakalnina, who herself grew up in Soviet times, moves the story to a collective farm in Soviet Latvia in the 1960s and renames her character Janis. Dubbed by The Hollywood Reporter's critic as a "loving homage and a knowing critique of classic Eastern Bloc cinema," Dawn is produced by Harlga Company, Miracle Worker, Staron Film and Digitaalne Sputnik. Latvia first submitted a film to the Academy Awards in 1992 and has done so most years since 2008, but has never been shortlisted. Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |