Ērika Eglija-Grāvele

A unique, engaging film that combines documentary footage with narrative cinema to tell the story of four generations of a Latvian family. Sixteen year-old student Jānis has been given an interesting homework assignment – to draw his family tree and explain it. The story of his family begins with his great-great-grandfather who burned down the manors of German landowners during the 1905 revolution. My Family Tree takes us on a journey to various countries and political regimes, showing Jānis’ ancestors to be people of diverse fates and life stories. A rich Latvian trader, a red rifleman loyal to Lenin, a carpenter with the KGB and war refugees in Sweden are only a few branches on his family tree, and the boy has heard something unusual and unforgettable about each and every one of these people.

Alicija (33), a Polish-born liberal free-thinker, joins the Awakening movement in occupied Latvia. Her newlywed husband Ilgvars (53), a man with the experience of another generation, calls her to be more careful and cautious. With the support of a close friend, the poet Normunds (40), Alicija soon comes to the forefront of the Singing Revolution. However, alongside the first success, difficulties appear – Alicija receives an anonymous letter accusing Ilgvars of being a former KGB informant. His ambiguous answer leads to her wanting to find out the truth. Realizing that her husband’s actions in the KGB have affected the fate of her close friend, Alicija faces an unenviable choice. Torn by internal contradictions, she continues her work to restore the country’s independence, unable to find courage to resolve the situation. Alicija buries herself in her work and the emotional connection with her husband gradually fades away.