Back in 1990, Latvia is still part of the Soviet Union; just about. The reforms of the Gorbachev government give cause for optimism the world over. Tchelet travels to Riga in May 1990 and meets with Jews who, while hopeful for a better future, lack the faith that it will actually come about. He films in synagogues, schools, and on the streets; in living rooms and community centres. And portrays an everyday Jewish existence that is on the way to becoming part of social normality. Or so it seems. The trauma of the past, the experiences of the Shoah and the anti-Semitism of the socialist era run deep. The interplay of "anti-Zionist" propaganda and a deeply embedded anti-Semitism, the absence of any kind of processing of the past in the USSR and the fear of openly acknowledging one’s Jewishness have become deeply ingrained in the Jewish consciousness. Those interviewed say that life is at least better in the Baltics now than in Russia. A snapshot from the year of upheaval that was 1990; before the onset of large-scale Jewish emigration to the West.
Text: Bernd Buder
Supporting film: RESENTMENT (Gleb Osatinski, US, LT 2024, 30 min)