When Lolita Ritmanis was a little girl in Portland, Oregon, she didn’t even speak English. She spoke the native tongue of her parents, who fled the terrors of Communist Latvia in the years following World War II.
Now an Emmy-winning composer (and bilingual), she is on the Oscar shortlist for best original score for her rich orchestral and choral score for “Blizzard of Souls,” a World War I epic produced in her parents’ native country.
As Oscar voting begins today, Ritmanis is an admitted long shot for a nomination. But her win Tuesday night at the Society of Composers & Lyricists’ virtual ceremony, in the independent feature score category, ups her chances considerably. And a review of the past 20 years of Oscar score nominations reveals at least eight that contained “dark horse” nominees.
“It’s a huge cinematic break, coming from my parents’ homeland,” Ritmanis tells Variety, noting that she...
Now an Emmy-winning composer (and bilingual), she is on the Oscar shortlist for best original score for her rich orchestral and choral score for “Blizzard of Souls,” a World War I epic produced in her parents’ native country.
As Oscar voting begins today, Ritmanis is an admitted long shot for a nomination. But her win Tuesday night at the Society of Composers & Lyricists’ virtual ceremony, in the independent feature score category, ups her chances considerably. And a review of the past 20 years of Oscar score nominations reveals at least eight that contained “dark horse” nominees.
“It’s a huge cinematic break, coming from my parents’ homeland,” Ritmanis tells Variety, noting that she...
- 3/5/2021
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
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