The WWI epic drama Blizzard of Souls (Dvēseļu putenis), directed by Dzintars Dreibergs and Latvia’s Official Oscar Submission will open in virtual cinema in the U.S. on January 8, 2021. The film is based on the true story of young Arthur (16), enlisted in WW1’s Eastern Front; too young to fight, but old enough to die.

Blizzard of Souls stars Oto Brantevics, Raimond Celms, Martins Vilsons, Jekabs Reinis, Gatis Gaga, Renars Zeltins, Vilis Daudzins, Greta Trusina, Ieva Florence, and Rēzija Kalniņa

Blizzard of Souls pays stark witness to the horrors and brutality of the First World War, as seen through the eyes of Arturs (Oto Brantevics), an innocent sixteen-year-old farm-boy turned soldier. Too young to fight but old enough to die, he enlists to serve on the Eastern Front with dreams of becoming a hero. Conscripted into one of Latvia’s first national battalions, Arturs soon discovers the grim reality of trench warfare. Fighting alongside his father and brother, he experiences the loss of his home and loved ones while growing up surrounded by constant danger and death on the battlefield.

Adapted from the book by Aleksandrs Grins, which was banned in the USSR, the story was based on Grins’ own war experiences in a Latvian battalion, and the film is the biggest box office success in Latvia of the past 30 years.