Discoveries from Latvia World Cinema

Ernests (70) and Alvine (64), two married postal workers, have developed a scheme to win a trip to Rome, but Alvine's rapidly progressing Alzheimer's disease complicates their plan.

The story of Marģers Vestermanis is special since he is one of the few Holocaust survivors in Latvia. Can you live a full and targeted life after your family has been murdered but you have undergone through ghetto and concentration camp? Not everyone has managed – many remained trapped in the past and were not able to find the strength of living on. If you asked Marģers Vestermanis, he would most probably say that there was no other choice for him. However, this film is not only a story about Marģers Vestermanis who survived Holocaust. This is a story about man's place after surviving a tragedy, about how it changes him and the ones around him. And it is also a story about us.

Rūjiena is the northernmost town in Latvia. Life here flows slowly, with a unique, flowing spirit of sincerity, love, and a certain sense of civic pride. The people of Rūjiena are proud of this. An attempt to trace the history of Rūjiena and its people is a visual essay by three residents of Rūjiena: Ivars Zviedrs, Valdis Celmiņš, and Krišs Ozols.

What does the question “to be or not to be?” mean? 86 year-old director Olģerts Kroders stages his fourth production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Valmiera Drama Theatre. The theatre is more than merely his occupation, for he not only works there but also spends all of his time in it. The film depicts his routine and the rehearsal process up until the premiere, and provokes a dialogue using the four actors who have all played Hamlet in the different productions. Kroders’s life and the lives of the actors tell the history of Latvia and the fates of different generations.

Trains and railroad tracks are the unifying elements in this found footage film made out of fragments from feature films produced in Latvia from 1958 to 1989. It’s a cinematic journey into the world of dreams, filled with memories, desires, and the incessant quest for the ever-elusive happiness. The trains have played an important role in the history of cinema. A lot of interesting phenomena are linked with trains – locomotion, changes, an opportunity to think, dynamics, force, sense of something important… It helps to cross the usual boundaries.

The film tells the story of a mischievous fox whose actions in Bunny Village will influence the arrival of spring.

After a Russian missile strike kills their 11-year-old son and critically wounds his mother, a grieving father holds a phone to his child's ear at the funeral so she can say goodbye from her hospital bed.

The first film in a series about Latvian regional folk costumes – Zemgale skirt patterns and yarn dyeing, embroidery and weaving, metal brooch and jewelry making, shawls and other elements of folk costumes. The filmmakers were consulted by folk craft master Ilga Madre, and three generations of the Ozolu family from Jelgava participate in episodes filmed at the Bauska Region Open-Air Museum.

A boy learns about an upcoming film festival and decides to create a short film- but he has no idea what to make.

Fantasies of a little boy admiring a blooming flax field.

A young woman is stuck in the film archives. She is lost amidst the shelves of film reels and within the labyrinth of her thoughts and subconscious. Will she find a way out?

Shammies are playing Chutes and Ladders. Sockie is not doing too well, she would rather do something else, like, got married. But to whom?

Who am I when no one is around, Sabine asks when she is alone. The young woman’s life changes when falling in love leads to a personality crisis. She seeks peace and refuge by running away from her everyday life and hopes for new changes, but is instead forced to confront her inner self and play the role of victim that she is so familiar with. The message here speaks about the radically different perceptions of women and men regarding the world, which they can only understand by sharing and cooperating with each other.

A young couple walks down the street. The wife talks and talks, without looking at her husband. When she finally looks, it turns out that the husband has disappeared. There is a big hole nearby, so he has fallen in. Panic sets in and the Emergency Brigade is called. Rescue work can begin underground.

Friends Munk and Lemmy try to grow a fruit tree in the desert, but they need water. Munk discovers a spring with unusual water—once poured on the sapling, it blossoms, greens, and bears fruit at miraculous speed. Their acquaintance, Green Sloth, also wanting the fruit, accidentally spills the magical water and brings a prehistoric skeleton to life. Only after a perilous chase and some clever moves do the two friends manage to overcome the aggressive skeleton and escape safely.

A documentary about Kaspars Stupelis, a quadruple world champion in motorcross.

In 1850, Baron Vulfs, who had arrived from Germany, named the farmhouses on his Gaujiena estate after world capitals. In 2002, the people of Gaujiena opened their European center in the baron's castle garden. A film about everyday life and celebrations in the Latvian countryside.

The spirit of Latvian soldiers, the most memorable moments in the history of the Latvian army, and an insight into the development of the National Armed Forces today. Using animation, unique archive footage and photographs, as well as stories told by contemporaries, an emotional message has been created about the Latvian fighting spirit, which has permeated conflicts led by foreign powers throughout Latvian history, helped to win the Latvian War of Independence and build a strong Latvian army during the interwar period, and gave the confidence to take to the barricades and restore the armed forces in the 1990s. The film was commissioned by the Ministry of Defense to ensure the preservation of military history.

A group of children from the capital city of Riga arrive in the small border village of Ipiķi. The townsfolk immediately know that "they aren’t locals, they’re from the capital. You can tell by the way they dress.” The differences between the city and rural children are quite evident. While the country children nimbly climb trees, play games with knives and axes, and hide in their self-made tree house, the city children buy sweets in the town store, hoping to buy the goodwill of the local children. However, gaining entry into the tree house is not so simple.

A story about a train as it reflects our path of life. On it, like in life, people experience friendship and love, and sometimes feel lonely. On board, the announcement over the PA system outlines the rules, and then a reminder that the train won’t be stopping. Do we hurtle through life without making any stops? What are we thinking? We all know that the moment will come when our train pulls to a stop, but not how and when, and what happens afterwards.

An experimental video concert using split-screen technology – a new audiovisual work by Gundega Šmite and director Aleksandr Okonov. Subtle modernism in music, Latvian folk song lyrics, the classical-ethnic music of the Arcandela ensemble, and collage-style video direction, with material filmed during the concert recording with 17 video cameras, creating the impression of a live performance.

The Stoļarova congregation is building its own church.

The habit of smoking will truly be broken by the end of this film. At the beginning of the film, however, a Scandinavian woman almost dies because the main character lights a cigarette at an airport.

A small town teenage girl Meldra, aspiring to be a writer, heads to Riga in hope to find Rihards, a famous poet, with whom she has fallen in love. She gets carried away by the turbulent life of the capital. While breaking all of her suburban standards, she loses many of her illusions and becomes courageous enough to make her own decisions.

A tragicomic story about the passions and commotions behind the closed doors of communal flats in Riga.

A jolly, care-free, slightly absent-minded Witch loses her magic button. What would the world have looked like if the witch hadn’t found it again!?

In Seda, a remote peat miners' town in Latvia, time seems to be frozen in the Soviet era. Built in 1952 and inhabited by a multi-ethnic workforce from different parts of the former USSR, it still preserves intact the inflated style of a Stalinist "shock work" construction project. Culturally Seda's people feel like a community apart. Their lingua franca is Russian, and their social life is a mixture of Soviet and Russian Orthodox traditions. They don't want the European Union, they want to live in their own state - the Marshland.

Anna "Buksa" Scemelinska (1925 - 2011) was a Latvian folksinger. She learned her song repertoire and singing style from her parents and villagers. She sang in the Rekova Church Choir in 1956, and has also been a member of the Rekava Ethnographic Ensemble from 1980. Her mother sang religious hymns ,"godzinkas", while Anna sang traditional dainas. The singing was like the rest of her life: in harmony with nature. Marked by hard work and deep religiosity, her songs are a kind of Eastern European blues or gospel. Singers like Anna Scemelinska are storytellers. Their folk songs comprise legends, history and experience from life.

“Lustrum” was one of the state administration principles of the Roman Empire – a five-year period after which public administrators underwent a purification and repentance process that was usually accompanied by a sacrifice. During this time, the representatives of the previous administration confessed all their sins, repented and genuinely swore allegiance to the new administration. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia has made a decision to open the KGB archives in May 2018. The film is an endeavour to answer the question of whether the lustration that never took place in the 1990s may turn out to be dangerous for the future existence of statehood.

A man decides to help out the mob, hoping for a reward.

Valentina lives in an isolated mental health institution in Latvia. This documentary gives us a brief glimpse into her life there: We explore her relationships with her brother, husband and closest friend, who live there too. The focus remains on those relationships in order to present the viewer the simple understanding that we are all fundamentally human - We all share the same moments of grief, joy, sadness and love. Underpinning this lies the deeper socio-cultural issue of mental health. This is not a film about 'crazy' people - It is a film about people and humanity.

A charcoal on paper animation about a motorcycling circus bear who decides to leave the daily routine and takes off to the forest where his true happiness seems to dwell.

The Voice. The legend of the radio broadcast. Can there be news too bad for him to handle?

It is now the ninth month since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is ruthlessly trying to occupy it. The Ukrainians' fighting spirit and love for their country, however, are irrepressible – they fiercely resist and drive the Russians out of the cities they've temporarily taken. Unfortunately, the occupying forces have left horror, misery and scars behind them.

The documentary reveals the life of Ukrainians and their relentless struggle for the independence of the country in the most threatened sectors of the front.

A playful portrayal of a merry royal couple who set off on a secret journey without subjects in order to enjoy simple human freedom at least a little. But the world is so full of various coincidences - Leopards growl in the trees, hungry crocodiles swim, snakes, monkeys and other surprises also appear that the King and Queen have to meet.

The story of an abandoned puppy looking for a new friend for himself.

About an amazing acquaintance and friendship. The plot of the picture is based around a bunny and a cat.

The relationships between two people are never easy. Especially when complicated by their professions. We are used to think that profession or occupation puts a stamp or a mask on peoples' personality. He is a pastor, she is a prostitute. Everything's clear. But underneath he is a man, she is a woman. Simple and difficult in the same time. Short film "Scortum" tells the story of the mazy relationships between sin and happiness which can never be solved.

Who is Walter Caps? Photography enthusiasts know him as the father of Minox, the first miniature camera invented in 1935.

She is young and beautiful. But a film portrait is more grateful to the life story of a person whose greatest works are already behind them... If the heroine of our film is so young, the most difficult path remains – to try to show how this star of the stage came to be. What was given by God and family, what was gained through the contradictions of Elīna Garanča's own soul and her passion for work.

A young choir conductor is overcome by nerves right before his choir has to undergo the ultimate test - get through the selection for the national Song and Dance Festival. However, the old piano-tuner Frolova, who lives in the basement, might have a recipe for overcoming the stress... Her method has saved generations of Latvian choir conductors.

One owner takes great pride and care in his private lawn. One day he sees a mushroom growing there. The mushrooms are growing and there is no stopping them. The owner calls the Emergency Brigade, which arrives immediately and gets to work.

A serious businessman buys a new car and discovers a major flaw in his shiny new pet - it won't start. With the help of the men of the Emergency Brigade, his car becomes the original eco-friendly means of transport.

One of the most ambitious street basketball movements in the world, Ghetto Basket has nurtured a new generation of players over the past ten years, who are now on their way to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo with a real chance of winning Olympic gold. Currently the third strongest 3x3 basketball team in the world, Riga Ghetto Basket, founded in 2017 by team manager Jānis Āre and Ghetto Basket leader Raimonds Elbakjans, won the 2017 European Championship title, won the silver medal at the 2018 European Championships, and regularly plays in the finals of FIBA World Cup tournaments, making all the strongest teams in the world nervous. The film tells the story of the experiences, trials, team unity, and street toughness over ten years that have created a platform for a new and promising generation of Olympic athletes.

Luxus aeterna put to celluloid: four girls disappear without a trace under mysterious circumstances. Those who loved them go in search of the missing.

Portrait of Signe Baumane. About creative people, obsession and fixation with their work, huge egos without which nothing gets done, but alongside them are others whose lives are willingly or unwillingly subordinated... The train of alienation is picking up speed, and it seems that it is impossible to jump off without painful injuries.

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 portrait of female prisoners and their guards in Afghanistan, showing parallel lives - the lives of the female prisoners, the life of the warden of the women’s prison, as well as the foreign advisors. The film shows the interplay of various levels of imprisonment. One level is the women themselves, the other is the strict and repressive rules for Afghan women, and yet another is the security threat of the outside world perceived by the advisors.

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.

Vija Vetra is the famous Latvian dancer and choreographer. She was admired for her dancing by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. She was loved by the world famous American poet Robert Lowell. She was the first to introduce sacred dance into church services in many different countries around the world. She has learned to cross freely the cultural boundaries, feeling equally at home both in Eastern and Western dance traditions. Born in Latvia, she has spent her life in different parts of the world and the camera traces her in the film (from India in 70ies where she had been renowned as "Vijaya", to New York, Greece, and Latvia today). The film is as colorful as her life: loud and happy like the feelings aroused by her splendid performance, deep and unknowable like her inner world, and sad, quiet and calm like loneliness itself?

It is a sunny morning at the forest pond in the animal village. The idyllic forest scene is disturbed by an unusual noise—a strange car suddenly drives into the forest. A family of domestic pigs has arrived to spend their vacation in the countryside. The forest piglet sees a beautiful piglet girl and romantic feelings awaken in him, but the girl's bourgeois parents put obstacles in the way of their friendship. The pig family's bad habits encourage the animals to teach them a lesson, and the offended wild boar takes the lead.

Two brothers are in lockdown for 23 days and can't leave their rooms, because their sister, Jete Jelbena, has Covid. Both of them decide to document this incident.

"Saiet sviestā" is a Latvian saying which means losing your mind or messing something up. It literally translates to something "turning into butter" and the word "butter" itself is used to describe anything that is chaotic, illogical or failed. The short film demonstrates this along with the literal act of making butter.

Riga — an industrial city. A glimpse of the exhibition at the Art Museum, the "Pionieris" cinema, and the restaurant views.

Patience and will, how much you can push yourself?