The Chameleon West: Lithuania as a Set for Soviet Cinema
Vilnius and Kaunas often stood in for Western cities in Soviet films. Does this still fuel misperceptions about the Baltic states in the Soviet era?Continue Reading →
"Nobody, Nobody Is Alone": What Singing Means to Estonians
“Singing brings Estonians joy. Singing gives Estonians courage. Singing makes Estonians free.”Continue Reading →
Twenty Speakers, But Three Poets: Writing in Livonian
Two books of poetry originally written in the Livonian language, spoken by just twenty people, have recently appeared in English translationContinue Reading →
Jazz, Instinct and Meaning: Tomas Kutavičius and Contemporary Lithuanian Music
Claire McGinn speaks to Lithuanian composer Tomas Kutavičius, and takes the pulse of contemporary art music in VilniusContinue Reading →
Sad Eyes: Earthy Psychedelia from Vilnius's Curly One
"Vilnius's music scene is a hotbed of surprising talent over which the spirit of Garbanotas soars high and mighty..."Continue Reading →
Bridges of Time: How Baltic "Poetic Documentaries" Exposed Soviet Reality
"They helped audiences to learn to see... not only to watch, but to see. To see and think and read between the lines."Continue Reading →
Revealing a City of Legends, Myths and Stories: the Book of Riga
Almost every single corner of Riga has its own story. The Book of Riga offers some of them up, and will hopefully lead you to many more.Continue Reading →
Remembering Jonas Mekas: the Lithuanian Refugee Who Changed American Film
Jonas Mekas captured '60s NYC, filming John Lennon and the Velvet Underground, while making groundbreaking experimental films and writing poetry in his native languageContinue Reading →
Harvest of Wetland: Images of a Remarkable Lithuanian Allotment
In 2002, frustrated with the long journey to legally receiving an allotment, a self-governed space was established by a group of pensioners on a piece of wetland in Šiauliai, Lithuania.Continue Reading →
"It Flew Like a Shooting Star": Sartre and De Beauvoir's Week in Soviet Lithuania
In July 1965, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir arrived in Soviet-occupied Vilnius. Their week-long stay in Lithuania was to leave a deep impressionContinue Reading →
"The Waters Must Break" – Pauls Bankovskis
"I discovered masturbation at almost the same time that I discovered the map of Latvia..."Continue Reading →
Sixteen Thousand Voices in Perfect Harmony: Latvia's Incredible Song Festival
Latvia's huge Song and Dance Festival has been recognised as a masterpiece of humanity by UNESCO – and its participants are increasingly multinationalContinue Reading →