Maris Martinsons (director)

Maris Martinsons
File:Maris Martinsons.jpg
Born	July 25, 1960(1960-07-25) Riga, Latvia
Occupation	Film director
Website
http://www.marismartinsons.com

For the Latvian-Canadian professor of management, business research director and international business consultant, please see Maris Martinsons.

Maris Martinsons (born July 25, 1960) is a Latvian film director, producer and screenwriter. From 1991 he has lived in Lithuania, but moved back to his homeland Latvia in 2010.

Biography

After graduating from the Latvia Conservatoires in 1989 as drama theatre director, Martinsons worked with Latvian musicians as an independent director/producer of music video clips. His first music video clip, “This is my car” by the band “Jumprava”, was the first independent video in Latvia’s history and it received the best video award from [reference] in 1989/1990. Since 1991, Maris has lived in Lithuania, where together with a partner he founded the production company “ARTeta” (1994). ARTeta has become a leading production company and the biggest studio complex (300, 600 and 900 sq meters big pavilions) in the Baltic States.

In Lithuania Maris has worked in the TV field, produced over ten original TV series, creating TV series and videos, and often serving as both the director and author of these productions. During 2005 and 2006 Maris participated in various workshops in Europe developing the skills in script writing, developing and marketing.

In 2006 Maris finally wrote a script for the arthouse movie Loss. The script was written in Jaipur, preparation for the shooting was managed from Bangkok, the was film shot in Lithuania and Ireland, edited just when his third son was born and finished during his visit in Beijing. In January, 2008, the film was released in Lithuania. In June, 2008 film was selected for the Official Competition of the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival and it was awarded with 2 prizes: Best Director and Best Music. Later this year Loss was submitted as the nominee from Lithuania for Best Foreign Language Film consideration for the 2009 Academy Awards (Oscars).

In 2009-2010 Maris Martinsons coordinated the development of a second feature film "Amaya", also known as "Hong Kong Confidential". This film stars veteran Japanese actress Kaori Momoi and Lithuanian musician/actor Andrius Mamontovas. It was notable as the first-ever Latvian-Hong Kong co-production in the film industry. "Amaya" has received a mixture of acclaim and criticism since its debut screening in Riga, Latvia on 14 September 2010. It was a Best Foreign Language Film nominee from Latvia for the 2011 Academy Awards (Oscars). On 12 June 2011, the gala Hong Kong premiere of "Amaya" at the Harbour Road Arts Centre was attended by dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Latvia, Valdis Dombrovskis, the Latvian Ambassador to China, distinguished Professors Roger King and Maris Martinsons, and many members of the Latvian community in Hong Kong.

Filmography

• Tempura (2012) as director, co-producer, writer
• Amaya also known as Hong Kong Confidential (2010) as director, co-producer, editor, writer
• Loss (2008) as director, co-producer, editor, co-writer

Television filmography

• 42 (TV miniseries, 2007) as director, producer, co-writer
• Anastasia” (TV movie, 2006) as director, producer, co-writer
• Anastasia” (TV series, 2005) as director, producer, co-writer http://www.anastasiahostagedrama.com/
• Refresh(TV series, 2004) as author, co-director
• Tenants (TV series, 2004) as author, director
• Julia (TV series, 2002–2003)as author, co-writer, director, producer
• De Facto (TV series, 2002–2003) as author, director
• Shapro show (TV humor show, 2001–2003) as author, director
• Valse of destiny (TV series, 2001–2002) as author, co-writer, co-director, producer
• Grybauskai (TV series, 2000–2001) as co-director
• Ben’s diary (TV series, 1999–2000) as author, director, producer

Awards

• Shanghai Film Festival (China)
  • Won: Jin Jue (Golden Goblet) award for Best Director (for Loss)
    • Best Foreign Film nominee at the 2011 Academy Awards, the Oscars.

Persondata
Name	Martinsons, Maris
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 25, 1960
Place of birth	Riga, Latvia
Date of death
Place of death