My Favorite War

Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen, now living in Norway, goes back to her childhood in Soviet Latvia during the Cold War for this animated coming-of-age documentary. She grows up under a strict regime. In elementary school she is already shown gory war movies and is taught how to use a gun to prepare for a war that would not come. But her youthful curiosity makes her question the fear and oppression with which she is raised. Under communist rule, it turns out that not everyone is equal, far from it. It is time for a change. My Favorite War is actually an anti-war film, emphasizing the importance of an individual’s freedom being a democratic society’s fundamental right. This documentary did not go unnoticed. It was internationally awarded, including at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where the jury concluded: "My Favorite War teaches the global value of freedom and demonstrates how a very personal story can be of universal interest."