Andra Doršs

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At the beginning of the 1960s, when the French pioneers of cinéma vérité set out to achieve a new realism, and when direct cinema in Québec began to vie for notice, the Baltics wit-nessed the birth of a generation of documentarists who favored a more romantic view of the world around them. This meditative documentary essay – from a Latvian writer and Lithuanian director whose composed touch has long dovetailed with the stylistically diverse works of the Baltic New Wave – pushes adroitly past the limits of the common his-toriographic investigation to create a portrait of less-clearly remembered filmmakers. The result is a consummate poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation. Also a cinematic poem about cinema poets.

A story about a city built as a paradise but turned into hell – a city slowly turning into paradise again, just in a different way. Igor has been living in the Chernobyl Zone for almost ten years, for peace and a chance to escape modern civilization. Psychological issues, both personal and global, are still troubling him, and he embodies both harmonizing peace and supernatural stress. And an existential secret – the secret of the essence of life. He is surrounded by the elderly inhabitants of Chernobyl, living in villages entirely overcome by nature. They lead their unrealistic Atlantean lives, from which even war in Ukraine seems to be happening on another planet.

The film is based on true events, it tells the stories of two outstanding personalities of the 20th century – Sergei Eisenstein and Isaiah Berlin, who were both born and spent their childhood in Riga but soon had to leave the city. The film follows the lives of the two characters during the turbulent first half of the 20th century, telling how one of them becomes “the greatest film director of his generation” in the totalitarian Soviet Union, and the other “the greatest thinker of his generation” in liberal Great Britain.

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).

After a skateboarding accident, Hugo (13) develops magical superpowers. He quickly becomes the coolest kid in school but now has to choose between status and friendship.

The documentary film Laidi tells the story of the last year of Laidi Primary school in Laidi Manor, southwestern Latvia. Ieva Epnere came to Laidi in autumn 2021 as part of a creative residency to learn about the history and stories of the parish and to find inspiration for a new artwork. During the residency, the idea of collaborating with the school's theatre group was born, and together with choreographer Elīna Gediņa the movement performance Laidu leģendas (eng. Tales of Laidi) was created. Parallel to the development of the idea, the artist learned about the decision of the Kuldīga County Council to close the school. The disturbing news prompted Epnere to document the situation. The result is a documentary film spanning all seasons and connecting the everyday life of the school with preparations for a reunion that will also be a farewell.

The documentary explores issues of beauty and acceptance in a culture increasingly saturated with idealised and unattainable ideals of femininity. It is a story about the world of young girls in today's Latvia, based on conversations about girls' attitudes towards the world and their place in it.

The film is a reflection of the Latvian people in the year of the country's centenary – viewers will easily recognize themselves and their personal stories in its scenes. Starting on New Year's Eve, January 1, when the first centenary baby, little Jete, arrives in the world to the sound of fireworks, and ending with piano music playing over a snow-covered and sunlit panorama of Latvia, the film captures the lives of hundreds of people. In addition, by filming each of the 365 days, sometimes with several cameras, and observing the processes of nature, in the countryside and in urban environments, in the lives of individuals, families and society, the cameramen have vividly captured the different facets of this story through the lens of the camera: the beautiful, the bitter, the grand, the meaningless, the comical and the absurd.

The To Be Continued documentary follows lives of five children throughout their first school year. Kārlis's family is firmly rooted in the Latvian countryside. Gleb's grandparents came to Latvia only in the Soviet period. Zane's family are first-generation urban-dwellers. Anastasija's family moved from the city to the countryside. Anete's mum lives and works in England. The film explores how these choices made by adults are reflected in a child's thinking.

A dreamer by nature, Quanqi Zhu decides to set up a unique installation at the hillside of Sacred Songshan mountain in China. Despite the language barrier, his best companion is Latvian architect Austris Mailitis. As the building of the object begins, the creators themselves have to levitate between cultural differences, conventions and personal ambitions.