CULTURAL EVENTS IN SEPTEMBER

 

GORA SPIRITS. Exhibition by Kirils Panteļejevs
From September 9 to November 9, Art Gallery
“This current reality is hard to grasp when viewed through the lens of everyday routine. Each new day surprises with ever more incredible news, forecasts, and predictions. One wants to believe in positive scenarios, trust higher powers, and believe in miracles. Letting myself be carried by that feeling, in my project ‘Gora Spirits’ I wanted to turn to ancient mythology and integrate figures from the distant past into a contemporary message,” says artist Kirils Panteļejevs.

SCULPTOR LEO JĀNIS BRIEDĪTIS 100. Memorial Exhibition
From September 9 to November 9, 1st Floor Seminar Room
Northern Latgale hides many unexplored cultural treasures, including the biographies, birthplaces, and artistic achievements of exceptional personalities in the global art scene. One of them is sculptor Leo Jānis Briedītis. Marking the centenary of the artist’s birth, this memorial exhibition reflects on the sculptor’s creative life.
 

What is it like to be a girl in today’s world? Six teenage girls in six countries — South Korea, Germany, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Chile — long for freedom, wish to fall in love, and want to take control over their own bodies. In challenging situations, they make their own choices, overcome the crises of puberty, and boldly stand against restrictions, brutal traditions, societal pressure, beauty standards, and prejudice. They are young and extraordinary despite it all. In English, Spanish, German, Serbian, and Korean with subtitles in Latvian and English. Free tickets are available for students, pupils, and pensioners with ID.

 

Jana lives in Tbilisi with her teenage daughter Elene. Although Jana grew up without family warmth and, for a while, they both lived on the streets, their relationship is close and loving. Life is still not easy, and Jana decides to sacrifice her body and health for her daughter’s future by becoming a surrogate mother. In the gray zone of the surrogacy business, Jana is vulnerable, and her body is subjected to dangerous strain. Initially, she tries to hide her pregnancy from Elene, but the girl gradually begins to sense the truth. Filmed with deep respect and sensitivity, this is an intimate portrayal of the mother-daughter bond. In Georgian with subtitles in Latvian and English. Free tickets are available for students, pupils, and pensioners with ID.

 

Pierre is a family man, a commercial director at a photo lens manufacturing company. While his wife and son are away on a ski trip, Pierre decides to invite home a young woman he randomly meets in a bar. In the prime of his midlife, he decides to taste the “forbidden fruit,” starting a promising flirtation, but things do not go as planned, and the night’s events and unexpected twists turn Pierre’s life upside down.
Cast: Artis Robežnieks, Liene Sebre or Marika Šmukste, Intars Rešetins-Pētersons.

 

Andris Keišs: “For the past 28 years, I’ve been living other people’s lives, on stage and in front of cameras. It takes up a big part of my life. In the evenings, I live those lives during performances, and in the mornings, during rehearsals, I analyze them. I want to pause for a moment and, as Ojārs Vācietis said, ‘fly through what’s already behind me.’ Through my life. Thank God, everything so far has been full of joy and tenderness. I know that there will be plenty of joy, friendship, and discoveries ahead, but I want to record the past so it doesn’t fade.” The anniversary performance will feature pianist Romāns Vendiņš, guitarist Jānis Kalniņš, and a debut by accordionist Ādams Keišs.

 

Haralds Sīmanis was a unique and unforgettable voice in the Latvian cultural space. He was an artist of self-expression who, through his music and singing, crossed the boundaries of time, politics, and genre. His songs blended protest, spirituality, and the openness of the soul. Director Dzintra Geka’s latest film is a poetry of life and departure. It tells the story of a man who did not fit into systems but embodied freedom in music, life, and silence. The documentary captures his final years: his anniversary concert, his friendship with sound engineer Māris Āboliņš, his garden paradise near a social housing apartment in Ārona, and his last public appearance in Ziemeļblāzma Park — all with the poignant awareness that life was coming to its close.

 

This year marks the 340th anniversary of three Baroque masters — Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti. The program is not only dedicated to these composers but also invites audiences to experience the metamorphoses of their music during the Romantic era. The concert will feature Johann Sebastian Bach’s well-known but rarely performed Italian Concerto in Latvian concert halls, Ferruccio Busoni’s romantic fantasy on Bach’s Chaconne from the second violin partita, as well as Domenico Scarlatti’s experimental miniatures, remarkable for their innovative nature. In the second part of the concert, pianist Aurēlija Šimkus will be joined by the talented pianist and multiple international competition laureate Daumants Liepiņš. Together, they will perform works by Mozart, Ravel, and Lutosławski.

 

With this concert program, Kautkaili moves closer to people and places where a concert is not just an event but a meeting. The group says: “We are preparing a special electro-acoustic program where the songs will gain a closer, quieter, and emotionally richer sound.” The concerts will feature songs from their critically acclaimed debut album “Personas kods” and their soon-to-be-released mini-album “Kur klusums zied”. The performance will combine melodies that take listeners into an unexplored world of emotions with the group’s signature electronic elements and intelligent instrumental arrangements, with the centerpiece being the velvety and unforgettable voice of soloist Kristīne Pāže, often described as one of the strongest in Latvian music.

 

The main characters are “weary” forty-somethings facing marital problems. To spice up his life, Bernard has started an affair with a young model, Suzanne, showering her with expensive gifts. Meanwhile, his wife Jacqueline, also bored with her marriage, begins a fling with Bernard’s best friend, Robert. Into the chaos walks Suzette, the culinary service housekeeper, who arrives at Bernard’s house to prepare dinner. She soon finds herself in a whirlwind of misunderstandings, until her rock-and-roll-loving husband Georges arrives to sort everything out.
Director: Herberts Laukšteins.

 

This concert is conceived as a tribute to the beloved Latgalian singer Aija Rimša, keeping her songs alive. In 2025, it will be 20 years since Aija’s passing, making this occasion even more emotional and heartfelt — featuring both strong Latgalian folk songs once performed by Aija and her original compositions. Special guests: Olga Rajecka, Ineta Rudzīte, Santa Kasparsone, Guntra Kuzmina-Jukna, the Rēzekne vocal studio “Skonai”, Gita Dukaļska, Irēna Karkjuža, Agnese and Andris Širanti, Sandris Sproģis (“Bruģis”), and other guests. Aija Rimša’s youngest son will also perform in the concert.

 

Tickets can be purchased at The Embassy of Latgale GORS or via the Biļešu Paradīze ticket system online and at the box office at Pils iela 4, Rēzekne. For more information and updates, visit www.latgalesgors.lv or follow GORS on Facebook and Instagram.

Translated using AI, if you spot any mistakes in the translation feel free to write us an e-mail (gors.vestis [at] rezekne.lv) highlighting the mistake.