Juris Podnieks

In the same year, his film Constellation of Riflemen (Strēlnieku zvaigznājs) won honours in the 17th All State Festival in Leningrad and the Latvian Komsomol prize.

It showed civil unrest in Uzbekistan, survivors of the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia, striking workers in Yaroslavl, environmental protests in Kirishi, former residents returning to Chernobyl etc.

His Homeland (Krustceļš, 1992) was an account of folk festivals in these countries when national songs which had been banned by the Soviet regime for 50 years, were sung by massed choirs.

While filming a follow-up in January 1991, Podnieks and his crew came under sniper fire during the attempted coup by Soviet forces in Riga.

In 2010, Podnieks was posthumously awarded the Latvian Order of Viesturs, 1st Class for his contribution to the restoration of the independence of Latvia.