Mēs esam un būsim

Directed by Janis Streics

A story about the Latgale Song Festival in Daugavpils, building a bridge between Latvia's fateful days in June 1940 and the 1990 festival, which is like a prelude to the upcoming 20th Latvian Song Festival in Riga. The director, who was born in Latgale, narrates the film himself, sometimes speaking in Latgalian, sprinkling in heartfelt jokes, drawing historical parallels, and radiating emotional excitement. The film features conductors Terēze Broka and Gunārs Ordelovskis, priest Aleksandrs Madelāns, composer Raimonds Pauls, and politician Anatolijs Gorbunovs, whom Streičs calls the president of Latvia because he was the first head of the restored state. The emotional climax of the film is composer Jānis Norvilis' song Daugav's abas malas (Both Banks of the Daugava) with Rainis' words "... Latgale is ours!"