Padomju džinsi / Soviet Jeans

Jeans are as much a part of rock’n’roll as whipped cream on an ice cream sundae. But in 1970s socialist Latvia, getting a pair of the blue brand-name pants from the capitalist West was quite difficult. The young, energetic underground enthusiast and trained theatrical tailor Renārs, who’s been under observation by the government for ages, manages to get a hold of an original pair and use them to his advantage. After a politically-motivated conviction, where he’s sent to rot in a mental hospital, he hijacks the sewing shop there and, with the help of the money-hungry hospital director, establishes an illegal but very profitable jeans manufacture. It all goes great until the KGB gets wind of it. This fast-paced, humorous, and wonderfully acted series gives us a love story and shows the country’s political, social, and artistic development – not to mention plenty of suspense. Renārs’ tireless inventiveness reflects life’s absurdity. The NFL will be screening episodes 1, 2, and 6 of this eight-part series – and there will also be a “What happened in between” recap in the cinema!