World War II separated the Latvian nation into two parts. Fleeing Soviet occupation, a large part of the people left their homeland by the Baltic Sea and sought refuge in the West. New York’s Hell’s Kitchen district became their home and the core of Latvian cultural exiles became young poets and artists. The film traces across half a century to show their life today and what has happened to those young writers and poets (the Troubadour – Gunars Silins, the Internal Dissident – Janis Kreslins, Philosopher the Dionisios – Robert Muks, the Estranged One – Rita Gale, the Observer – Aina Kraujiete, the Outsider – Dzintars Sodums) in their effort to combine the trends of global culture with their ethnic identity, when two cultures, Latvian and American, intersected.
A World Apart
Overview
World War II separated the Latvian nation into two parts. Fleeing Soviet occupation, a large part of the people left their homeland by the Baltic Sea and sought refuge in the West. New York’s Hell’s Kitchen district became their home and the core of Latvian cultural exiles became young poets and artists. The film traces across half a century to show their life today and what has happened to those young writers and poets (the Troubadour – Gunars Silins, the Internal Dissident – Janis Kreslins, Philosopher the Dionisios – Robert Muks, the Estranged One – Rita Gale, the Observer – Aina Kraujiete, the Outsider – Dzintars Sodums) in their effort to combine the trends of global culture with their ethnic identity, when two cultures, Latvian and American, intersected.