My Favorite War wins at the Annecy festival

After nine years of tears, hard work and adversity, I am now giving way to the tears of joy. I could endure this long production time only because I worked with so many talented and kind people – both the staff and all who believed in the film and supported us in Norway and Latvia.

Now the film begins its world journey. I am happy. From head to toe. For one day. Then a new working day will start on Monday.

This is an important recognition and has a great value in bringing "My Favorite War" out to a large international audience.

"My Favorite War" is a personal animated documentary that tells the story of the director's growing up in Latvia, part of the Soviet Union, during the years from 1970 to 1990. The Soviet regime used World War II as a significant ideological weapon to intimidate and oppress the population during the Cold War. When Ilze discovers the remains of a German soldier in her backyard sandbox, she begins looking for other stories buried underneath the propaganda. “I had to make a choice then - who do I want to become and what do I believe in? The same questions young generations are asking themselves today”.

Bivrost Film will launch an essay competition with the working title “Democracy and Me”. Its starting point is the opinions of today's youth in Europe about the fact that our democracies are again under pressure from totalitarian leaders and nationalist movements. We hope that the story of "My Favorite War" can inspire youth to manifest their attitudes. It has been our wish ever since we started working on the film.

More about this to come.