Jānis Streičs (1936-2026) was a renowned Latvian film director, writer, actor and painter. Streičs is often described as the master of understanding the mentality of Latvians and no stranger to good-hearted irony and humour. His comedy films earned him an unwavering popularity among the people, and three of his films - Theatre (1978), A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve (1981), and The Child of Man (1992) - were awarded the national cinema prize 'Lielais Kristaps' as the best film of the year.