Herz Frank Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Herz Frank
Directing
Biography
Herz Frank (17 January 1926- 3 March 2013) was one of the most famous documentary filmmakers of Latvia. At the beginning of 1960ies, he was among the first to establish the so-called Riga poetic documentary school – the Latvian “new wave”. Herz Frank’s filmography includes more than 80 films, many of which are considered classics of Latvian film history. One of his most-known works is Ten Minutes Older (1978), which he made together with Juris Podnieks and in which children's faces are observed during a puppet theatre performance. In 1992, Frank moved to Israel, while maintaining ties with Latvia. In 2001, he received the Lifetime contribution award by the Latvian National Film Awards 'Lielais Kristaps'.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Bridges of Time
At the beginning of the 1960s, when the French pioneers of cinéma vérité set out to achieve a new realism, and when direct cinema in Québec began to vie for notice, the Baltics wit-nessed the birth of a generation of documentarists who favored a more romantic view of the world around them. This meditative documentary essay – from a Latvian writer and Lithuanian director whose composed touch has long dovetailed with the stylistically diverse works of the Baltic New Wave – pushes adroitly past the limits of the common his-toriographic investigation to create a portrait of less-clearly remembered filmmakers. The result is a consummate poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation. Also a cinematic poem about cinema poets.
Pavel and Lyalya (A Jerusalem Romance)
“Like the right and left hand Your soul is close to my soul We are sealed shut, blissfully and warmly, Like the right and left wing…” The life and art of Pavel Kogan and Lyudmila Stanukinas, two famous Leningrad documentary filmmakers, can best be expressed by the Tsvetaeva stanza cited above. They are the main characters of this film, which their student Viktor Kossakovsky shot during Pavel Kogan’s final months. For Lyudmila Stanukinas, Lyalya, as those close to her called her, her husband was her only reason for existence. She was with him until the end and held onto his extinguishing life as much as she could.
Production
Ten Minutes Older
In this ten-minute documentary experiment, director Herz Frank films a group of children watching a puppet show, keeping the camera fixed on their faces in a single continuous shot. The performance itself remains unseen, while the children’s shifting expressions—fear, laughter, curiosity, and suspense—suggest the story unfolding before them as ten minutes of their lives quietly pass.
The Last Judgement
A man is facing a trial for murdering a Latvian union leader, which more likely than not will end with a death sentence. A close-up look at his emotional journey through the trial, imprisonment and beyond.
Beyond The Fear
The main characters of the film have made choices, which change their lives forever. A young man Yigal Amir assassinates the Prime Minister of Israel and becomes the most hated prisoner in the country. Larissa, who emigrated from Russia, mother of four divorces her first husband, marries the assassin and gives birth to his son. For many years the film authors have been trying to solve and perceive this complicated story. One of them, Hertz Frank, passes away during the shootings remaining on the threshold of the eternal mystery - life, death and love...
Tales
A portrait of the prominent Latvian painter Maija Tabaka, showcasing her work process and life of artists from that time.
Tales
A portrait of the prominent Latvian painter Maija Tabaka, showcasing her work process and life of artists from that time.
Restricted Area
The life of a 16 yearo-old convict through the Soviet penal system. The "restricted area" is a penal colony and Borstal, a "work camp" for delinquent children and young people. The film shows the contradictions in the notion of corrective education.
Perpetual Rehearsal
In 1991, the Moscow director Yevgeny Aryeh, with a handful of emigrants from the USSR, founded the Gesher Theater in Israel, which means “bridge” in Hebrew. Bridge between people. Bridge between cultures. And now between art forms. After all, "Eternal Rehearsal" is a fusion of theater and documentary films, a bridge between their languages.
The Salt Bread
In the evening newspaper "Rīgas Balss," reports by Hercs Franks often appeared, consisting of eight photographs, one on each page. From these, a narrative was constructed. The first film, "Salty Bread," was conceived through a camera. The photographs defined the image of the future film, creating a coherent story about the work of fishermen.
The High Song
Filmed largely in close-up, this documentary records a woman giving birth while her husband remains at her side. The camera concentrates on her face throughout labor, briefly revealing the moment of the child’s arrival before the newborn is placed in her arms.
Beyond The Fear
The main characters of the film have made choices, which change their lives forever. A young man Yigal Amir assassinates the Prime Minister of Israel and becomes the most hated prisoner in the country. Larissa, who emigrated from Russia, mother of four divorces her first husband, marries the assassin and gives birth to his son. For many years the film authors have been trying to solve and perceive this complicated story. One of them, Hertz Frank, passes away during the shootings remaining on the threshold of the eternal mystery - life, death and love...
Gallery
