Brave

That was the phrase that captivated me when, as a teenager, rummaging through my mom's shelf, I stumbled upon a book about Juris Podnieks.

Brave

I knew a little about who he was.
A filmmaker, cinematographer. A person who filmed the movie 'We' about the Afghan war and the movie 'Is it Easy to be Young?', about the pains and longings of young souls for truth and freedom.

Who filmed in the Chernobyl locator after the accident and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Filmed tanks rolling over people in Vilnius, and how his friends were shot and died in his arms in Bastejkalns, Riga.

A person who filmed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

I knew that he drowned in a lake while diving with a scuba, he was just a little over forty years old.
Most likely he was killed..

But reading a book about some grown-up uncle was not an everyday occurrence for me that time.
I long held the book in my hands, kept it on my nightstand, looked at Juris's earnest face on the cover,

until I finally decided to delve into this story.
And it became one of the most powerful stories in my life.

He had a wonderful and truly powerful soul.

He believed in multiple lives and the power of thought. Believed that when there is no choice, you are truly free.

He thought that something needs to be changed, something should be left behind. Believed that the awareness of work to be done is stronger than the fear of death.

He was emotional. He was free.

A famous actress once said to him,
-Juris, don't waste yourself, don't spend your emotions, you don't have the right.

Even if you want to cry, hold back your feelings, they will be useful to you later.
You will understand something, come up with a better episode.-

He really wanted to be understood.

* Used materials from Tatjana Fasta book "Juris Podnieks. Is it easy to be an idol?”