Podnieks gained international recognition thanks to his movie "Is It Easy to Be Young?". The film with dialogue in both Latvian and Russian was an exploration of Soviet youth. As the Soviet Union collapsed, Podnieks cooperated with British television to give first-hand insight on events in the Soviet Union. Over three years, Podnieks filmed a five-part documentary titled "Hello, do you hear us?". Later, Podnieks filmed movies that focused on the rise of national identity in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. His movie "Homeland" was an account of folk festivals in these countries when national songs which had been banned by the Soviet regime for 50 years, were sung by massed choirs. While filming a follow-up to this movie in January 1991, Podnieks and crew came under sniper fire during the attempted coup by Soviet forces in Riga. Podnieks was beaten up, his cameraman and long-time friend Andris Slapiņš killed and Gvido Zvaigzne, another collaborator and friend of Podnieks, died of injuries later. This material was captured on video and showed as an addition to "Homeland", and later as an introduction for the revised version of this film. Four of Podnieks' films received the Lielais Kristaps prize as best documentary of the year.