Gunārs Bandēns
Directing
Known For
Seven versions of Riga, the city on the Baltic Sea, and its features as seen by outstanding European film directors: Sergei Loznitsa (The Old Jewish Cemetery), Ivars Seleckis (On Ķīpsala), Audrius Stonys (Riga Boats), Jaak Kilmi (Littering Prohibited!), Jon Bang Karlsen (Cats in Riga), Rainer Komers (Daugava Delta), and Bettina Henkel (Theatre Street 6).
Over the Roads, Over the River
The international film festival Arsenāls has been a fixture on the Riga scene for the last 20 years. It has introduced new film aesthetic and was one of the only creatively free events during Soviet times. Over the years the festival has influenced culture and society in Eastern Europe, continually dazzling us with its creativity. The film is a portrait of the director, the father of Arsenals and trusty knight of surrealism.
In Bed with Surrealism. Augusts Sukuts
About how time is reflected in old newsreel footage and in the voice of its narrator, Boris Podnieks.
The Voice
From midnight until early morning you can travel to any suburb of Riga on a streetcar named Help, whose interior becomes a stage for life’s dramas, human exhaustion and hope. The streetcar is a democratic place where anyone can spend some time.
Streetcar Named Help
About the conflict between the founders of Latvian bobsleigh Rolands Upatnieks and Jānis Ķipurs, about the fight between two personalities, which has given nothing to Latvian bobsleigh.