LIELAIS KRISTAPS
Norie, a Japanese anthropology student, comes to Latvia to do a Masters research of the Suiti region. There she meets one of oldest Suiti singers Marija Steimane, also known as Ruch, who doesn’t speak a word of English, but she sings. Norie learns the Latvian language and songs. An anthropological interest evolves into a sincere friendship that lasts even when she returns to Japan: Ruch thinks about Norie, how she is doing “there, far away”, and worries about every earthquake in Japan, while Norie calls Ruch her Latvian grandma, goes to Japanese football games dressed in Latvian national garments, and chants “Go Latvia!”. Director and producer Ināra Kolmane has been working in the industry since the late 1980s. Her best known film to date is “My Husband Andrei Sakharov”; meanwhile, “Ruch and Norie” has become a box office hit in Latvia. Currently Kolmane is working on her second feature “Bille”, based on a popular autobiographical novel by Latvian writer Vizma Belševica.
