By Michaiah Varnes\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood College hosted a film festival in Rosenstock Hall\u2019s Hodson Auditorium featuring “Blizzard of Souls,” a film adaptation of a novel by Aleksandrs Gr\u012bns inspired by true events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event was organized by the Department of Biology and led by assistant professor Mark K. Chee. It was sponsored by the Graduate School as part of International Education Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keynote speakers included E. Thomas Ewing, professor of history and associate dean for graduate students and research at Virginia Tech, and Daina Eglitis, associate professor of sociology and international affairs at George Washington University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The audience consisted mainly of Hood students and members of the Frederick community, with additional participants joining through Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film follows a 16-year-old boy who joins the Russian Army on the Eastern Front during World War I. He confronts the brutal realities of war as he shifts from fighting for Imperial Russia to supporting the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution, ultimately seeking Latvian independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of the event, military historian Scott Hileman provided an overview of the Eastern Front, emphasizing its scale and significance. He noted that the front was shaped by diverse nationalities and ideologies that influenced the conflict\u2019s outcome. Hileman, a faculty member at Coastal Carolina University who specializes in modern European and non-Western history, offered attendees a deeper context for the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the film, the floor opened for audience questions. During the Q&A, an attendee asked how Latvians rebuilt their society after declaring independence. Eglitis responded, and Chee followed up with a question to further explore the topic. Both in-person and Zoom participants took part in the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chee said the conversation highlighted how the 1918 influenza pandemic reshaped Eastern Europe during the turmoil following World War I. He noted that the collapse of public health systems during the Russian Revolution and Civil War made it \u201cextremely difficult to understand the pandemic\u2019s true scale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that these events likely influenced later Soviet public-health policy, \u201cespecially considering the USSR ultimately launched the global effort to eradicate smallpox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students also asked about Latvia\u2019s experience during World War I and its subsequent fight for independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chee invited Ewing to discuss the country\u2019s struggles and Eglitis to address themes in the film \u201cBlizzard of Souls.\u201d Chee said he asked Eglitis about the film\u2019s protagonist, Art\u016brs, and how his journey mirrors Latvia itself, \u201cawakening,\u201d enduring devastation, and rebuilding toward \u201can uncertain but self-determined future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussion also touched on Latvia\u2019s post-independence industrial collapse, interwar instability, and long-term demographic challenges, including a population size that \u201cremains roughly what it was in 1915.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chee said the film was selected because Baltic cinema \u201cis strong despite the region\u2019s small populations,\u201d and because \u201cBlizzard of Souls\u201d is highly praised in Latvia while remaining accessible to international audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film offers \u201ca different way to portray war,\u201d he said, one that avoids glorifying combat and rejects a traditional happy ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that high-quality films about the Eastern Front of World War I are rare, which skews public memory toward the Western Front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film also allowed him to highlight the global impact of the 1918 flu pandemic \u201cwithout needing the disease to appear on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chee said he hopes students recognize how historical memory shapes current events. \u201cNot many people remember the 1918 flu,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it gave rise to all the seasonal influenza A strains still circulating today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also encouraged students to consider how difficult it is to make an antiwar film that doesn\u2019t unintentionally glorify war, recommending they compare \u201cBlizzard of Souls\u201d with films such as \u201cJoyeux No\u00ebl\u201d (2006) and \u201cGallipoli\u201d (1981).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A panel of experts examined how the Great War contributed to the Russian Revolution and the eventual push for Latvian independence. They also discussed how instability in Russia facilitated the spread of the 1918 influenza pandemic, providing context for Soviet-era public-health policy and modern-day relations between Russia and the Baltic states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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