Real Cinema: Arkady Mayofis

In the new episode of “Real Cinema,” Vitaly Mansky walks through Riga with Arkady Mayofis, a native of Tomsk, founder of the TV-2 television channel, and an émigré now living in Israel.

Their conversation is a reflection on political responsibility, personal tragedy, emigration, and a lost homeland. Mayofis speaks openly about the evil inflicted by Putin’s Russia, sees little hope for radical change in the foreseeable future, and explains why he regards what is happening as a tragedy for his own family.

Arkady Mayofis also reflects on the Russian-speaking community in Israel, language as a means of communication and self-identification, the sense of belonging, and the possibility of finding a new home.

As the conversation turns to Latvia, the Holocaust, and repentance, it raises the question of how different societies come to terms with their own history.

Where is one's homeland — where one was born, where one lives, or where one's family history lies?

For Arkady Mayofis, a homeland is not merely a place of origin, but also a matter of personal responsibility, memory, and the willingness to defend what one considers one's own.