Glasgow Film Festival 2021 : My Favorite War (2019)

My Favorite War tells Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen experience of growing up in Soviet Latvia. It is communism experienced by somebody still here to talk about it. The film shows her naivety and belief into the system as she was young but it also shares her current outlook on these events. She is able to reflect on her experiences critically and pick the belief system apart. I feel like there is a lot that can not be just explained logically but can be understood from the experience of people who have lived through it.

© Glasgow Film Festival Having been born in Russia from two Russian parents, it took me a while to realise my grandparents and parents have lived under communism and through the cold war. They have experienced first hand moments I would be learning all about at school decades later. Sometimes, we forget that History is sometimes closer than we think. There is so much more than the facts reported in books and that is why My Favorite War is so fascinating.

We see how Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen goes from playing to the system, believing in it to seeing the cracks, the contradictions, the wrongs, and develop her own critical thinking. The mix of animation, interviews with protagonists and archive footage delivers an incredible, must-see tale.