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Anita and her children, Santa and Kristaps, live in an apartment in Riga. Every year, they celebrate New Year’s Eve with grandma, uncle Peter and a feast fit for kings…
For two months, the third-grade students at Cēsis’ New Primary School have been plan-ning and organizing their own graduation ceremony. Throughout this process, the teach-ers are only there to help, trusting in the children’s wisdom, responsibility and ability to organize themselves, make decisions and follow through. Preparations for the celebration involve all the school subjects, turning the school into a place of exciting discovery, where children learn by doing things that are important to them. They enthusiastically live life in the here and now, in all its difficulties and joy.
A young director, who sits in front of a commission defending a film based on her own experiences with sex and relationships, is continually confronted with questions about why she’s making the movie. The answer doesn’t come easy… Linde took on a difficult task for her short film.
Director Aija Bley's "Brīva Vieta - T17" captures the unique testimony of the modern era of Riga - the life of "antisquoters". The film tells about the daily life and dreams of the youth community and a mute fish, the so-called commune T17. The community lives in a non-landscaped building, so its occupation is a real challenge. The house is located under the paspārns of the association " Free Riga ", whose movement is based on a responsible attitude towards nature and the careful use of resources. Here, the community is motivated by the conviction that so few resources in everyday life should be consumed in the urban environment. The film follows the everyday life of the community members, who use their lifestyle to use the resources of nature, material, culture and time.
A documentary about the Latvian pop singer Mārtiņš Freimanis who died at the early age of 33. The director of this film, Arvīds Krievs, has directed two films starring Freimanis as an actor, and had an intimate connection with him as they were neighbours and Freimanis trusted him more than the journalists or reporters who interviewed him. Arvīds Krievs had planned to make a film about the singer for a few years, so he filmed the singer's life extensively.
Two Rigans - Valentīna and Armands - make makeshift yard exhibitions by their homes out of objects they’ve found. They share the same hobby despite not knowing each other. As they’re decorating their little gardens of wonder for the upcoming Midsummer festival, it turns out that they too can find understanding and a sense of not being alone in their dreams.
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.
This documentary tells the story of a Latvian social legend of the 20th century, meeting Raimonds Pauls one month before his 70th birthday.
Despite societal standards, the members of the legendary Latvian punk rock band "Inokentijs Mārpls" and well-known music journalist Uldis Rudaks have been leading a rock-and-roll lifestyle all their lives. Now, in their 50ies, the men still stay truthful to the ideals of their youth, but, off the stage, they each have to deal with different aspects of life, ageing, and the change of the world around them.
It’s not easy to make much sense of the world and grownups’ reasoning if one is only seven years old. This is a story about Justine and the morning of her birthday.
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.
Father and daughter – film actor Pauls Butkēvičs and Doctor of Dental Science Alēna Butkēviča, who has passed on her family name to her son and grandson – meet in their country home and in stories from the past. Pauls has appeared in more than 150 films, Alēna has studied in Latvia and the US, lectured all over the world, but her father says: "We are together all the time. Maybe not physically, but mentally – definitely!"
In her fondest dreams, this film’s main character Leila (Riina Maidre) is a resplendent singer. In reality, however, all her energy and talent is spent on relationships that eat away at her soul, mind-altering substances, and glamorous showing-off. Heleri defies the rules. By playing with the possibilities of the art of film, she takes the viewer to an uneasy universe where the boundary between reality and illusion is incredibly thin. This is a world that is familiar to everyone who at some point in their life had to grow up and admit to themselves that dreaming is not enough on its own. And who have regardless of that chosen dreaming.
