Latvia, the late 1920’s. Anna, a young woman, pretty and educated, falls in love with an adventurous entrepreneur, 30 years her senior. But with marriage comes great jealousy, and the entrepreneur hides Anna away in the forest, far from other men, where she bears him eight children. The Great Depression hits them hard. Then Latvia is overrun with invasions by the Soviets, then the Nazis, then the Soviets once again. Anna is a pillar of strength, defying the hardships, raising her young, teaching them survival secrets of the forest. But something inside her is terribly wrong.
Years later, Signe, a young artist, asks her father, "How did my grandmother die?" Her father is evasive. His seven siblings are evasive, as well. Signe strongly suspects that Anna committed suicide. Clues of mental illness had always leaked through the family stories. Signe suffers from depression herself. Three of her cousins, all women, battle madness, as well. Could there be a link between Anna and the four granddaughters?
Defying the stigma that silences so many, Signe takes us on a journey deep into her own depression where she looks to confront the family demons. But, unlike her cousins, Signe finds an assuring guide in animation and art.
»I don’t make films in lieu of therapy, I make films to offer people my point of view, to provoke them to think differently, to engage them in a dialogue, and hopefully to entertain them. I can now formulate better what my specific symptoms are because in “Rocks in My Pockets” there are six rocks, each representing a specific symptom of depression, and I had to name them. Now when I feel a certain way I go: Aha, the rock of dread is bothering me today! Making the film has certainly made me more aware of the symptoms of my depression. The film has two fantasy characters - a creature living in the river representing the will to die, and a creature in the forest representing the will to live. I had never formulated my daily struggles so simply - I do have a will to live and it is fending off my will to die. They fight over me. Putting images on those two wills, I can now better see who is gaining the upper hand and when. Day after day the will to live has been winning. At least for now.«
- Signe Baumane
Rocks in My Pockets Rocks in My Pockets
What's On
Wisdom of Happiness Wisdom of Happiness
Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis
Wednesday, 17. 09. 2025 / 15:20 / Main Hall
With disarming wit, the Dalai Lama reflects on balancing millennia-old Tibetan Buddhist traditions with the contemporary values of our globalised society that now struggles to overcome violence and war while standing on the brink of environmental collapse.
Love Kjærlighet
Dag Johan Haugerud
Wednesday, 17. 09. 2025 / 17:20 / Main Hall
Sex, Love, and Dreams–not necessarily in that order–are the chapters in the trilogy exploring contemporary relationships, set in modern-day Oslo. In Love, the director invites us to reflect on our desires and expectations regarding sexuality, relationships, and intimacy.
Fiume o morte! Fiume o morte!
Igor Bezinović
Wednesday, 17. 09. 2025 / 20:00 / Main Hall
On 12 September 1919, a troop of some three hundred soldiers under the leadership of the flamboyant war-loving Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio swooped into the Northern-Adriatic port town of Fiume, now Rijeka, wanting to annex the city to Italy. Over the course of the next 16 months, during what is regarded as one of the most bizarre militant sieges of all time his official photography team captured over 10,000 images. A century later, Igor Bezinović orchestrates a direct-action history lesson focused on the siege and its modern-day implications.