Kaspars Kārkliņš

The Humorist is a film about a week in the life of Boris Arkadiev, a fictional Soviet stand-up comedian. Boris is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship but also by his own insecurities that poison all his relationships.

A police officer and his family arrive at their countryside home in a grim mood and unexpectedly meet Santa Claus. The children drag Santa into their scheme to save the family, while their parents start preparing for the celebration, unaware that the friendly Santa is in fact an escaped prisoner.

Small town resident Valters breeds his pigs and sings in the local church choir. His childhood secret however, prevents him from integrating in the community. After the death of his father he tries to establish contact with Aija. This is not the beginning of an ordinary young couple’s love story.

Elina Maligina’s film soulcash gives an insight into emotionally charged and climactic, but brief moment in the life of a woman who is going through menopause. The story is about the purification through psychological change that happens at this point rather than the physiological one.