Directing
During Latvia’s centennial year, 15 filmmakers created each his own film portrait of a person living in Latvia on the background of centenary events. Documentary 2018 combines these stories into a unique poetic vision based on analogy with the documentary 235 000 000, a classic of the Riga school of poetic documentary cinema. This film is an attempt to make sure whether the codes of the poetic cinema are still relevant and accessible today.
A man arrives to a flat to start living there, only to discover a young woman with a child already present in the flat.
Seagulls and sea, a breakwater and otherwise nothing but wasteland and cold wind. On the concrete, a chic handbag, scattered high heels and long legs in a tight miniskirt. Vika, a famous model, lies shivering on the cold ground after a heavy night drinking, left behind by a guy in a convertible. Little Mika finds her: she also dreams of becoming a model and Vika is her idol.
Siblings Roby and Raya after the death of their father and being abandoned by their mother, are forced to live with their dominating grandmother in a small country house owned by their family. Things change after the sudden death of their grandmother. The teenagers have to face a tough choice: either to report the accident and submit themselves to a life in an orphanage or hide the dead body and live as if nothing has happened.
In commemorating WWII events in Latvia each year, several “controversial dates” arise. These are remembrance dates that are viewed differently by Latvians, Russians and Jews. The film searches for answers through three main characters, each a representative of their nationality, and categorical in their opposing way of thinking. Why is a date that is celebrated and honoured by one side, also a symbol of deep pain and injustice for another? Why are there, to this day, in a country as small as Latvia, three or more completely differing historical interpretations?
A tragicomedy about the actions of four youths during the 10th Latvian parliamentary elections, and in the 100 days afterwards. Each represents a different political party and set of beliefs. In a time when Latvia is dominated by political nihilism, this film explores the political ideals of young people and their motivation to work towards a better future for their nation – through their hopes, work, victories and disillusionment.
Directed by Renārs Vimba, this documentary film follows composer Ēriks Ešenvalds on his expeditions to the Arctic circle in preparation of his large-scale Nordic Light Multimedia Symphony, which was premiered in 2015 and has been performed in the US, Canada, Germany and Latvia.
