Astra Zoldnere

A young married housewife's dull routine is enlivened as she spies on the sexual escapades of her fencing instructor neighbour. She too is seduced by him, but the fear of losing her family results in hysteria and an unpredictable climax.

They met on Christmas Eve, beyond one's usual living-space: at the morgue. In an outburst of feelings, they try to manipulate each other in order to get what they want. She wants him, but he wants to vanish – following the rules of black comedy, neither one of them will get anything.

There is the male gaze, the post-colonial gaze, and the anthropocentric gaze — but what about the gaze of youth? A diverse group of older people far over 65 re-perform stereotypical film scenes about older age: scenes of poor health, lack of mental sharpness and sexual invisibility. But do these cinematic images really correspond to their own reality? This documentary emphasizes that there is a need to challenge the dominant 'gaze of youth' and accept more multi-layered perspectives about later life.

Blueberry Spirits is a poetic documentary about a Roma family that spends its summers in the Latvian forests, picking berries to make a living. While harvesting the fruits of the forest, they reflect on their identity as a group by sharing ghost stories.

A poetic portrait of the western coastline of Latvia that, accompanied by songs about fish and the sea, roaring of vessel engines and factory alacrity, gives a glimpse into the life by the sea where the smell of fish and sea water is still present.