HAUEN UND STECHEN
Banuta
In 2020, “Hauen und Stechen” was commissioned to stage the opera “Baņuta” by Latvian composer Alfreds Kalniņš in Riga – written right after Latvia’s independence, it is now considered a national opera there. The pandemic turned this project into an opera film that combines the collective’s special theatrical language with its love of working with film and video. The filming took place on an installation film set and was complemented by outdoor shots in Riga and the surrounding area.
Duration: 154 Minutes
Direction: Franziska Kronfoth | Camera: Toms Škele | Editing: Ieva Stade | Stage and Costumes: Lotta Hench | Dramaturgy: Evarts Melnalksnis | Music: Alfreds Kalninš (1879 – 1951)
With: Angela Braun, Laura Grecka, Sniedze Kanepe, Armands Silins, Gina-Lisa Maiwald, Reinis Boters, Dainis Sumiskis, Aris Matesovics, Andis Klucenieks, Jekabs Nimanis, Karlis Tirzitis, Ernests Medins, Stanislavs Judins
Languages: Latvian | German | English | Russian | Italian
A production of the association “Sansui” (Latvia).
The film “Banuta” was supported by the Goethe Institut, the Foundation for Latvian Cultural Capital and its programme “Latvia – 100”, the Riga City Council and the VVFoundation.