Gatis Upmalis

The actors of the amateur theatre troupe in the Eastern part of Latvia (Latgale) live from the heart. In their daily life they are rooted in their own land, but on stage – true to life and funny. They are so strong they enjoy laughing at themselves. In the plays of their director Danskovīte, they do not act, they live for real. Portraits of the members of the Baltinava amateur theatre troupe “Palādas”, rehearsals and behind-scenes of staging the plays. “Determined Amateurs” is the last film by director Olafs Okonovs, after his death completed by his son, director Aleksandrs Okonovs, following Olafs’ idea.

A family film about an adventure of kids discovering and safeguarding the mystery of an old garden.

Eight-year-old Oskar’s holidays start miserably; his parents “swap” the computer for his granddad to protect the child from the dangerous influence of the Internet.

The elderly nursing home residents for years feel worthless and troublesome. But then a crazy idea strikes them - to waive their pensions and enroll in the army as volunteers thus saving the country from financial crisis and spending excitingly the last years of their lives. The oldies are wise enough at organizing this event and now real adventures begin.

Five stories and many more lives that are affected, they flow by each other and sometimes intersect. In one way or other we talk about emotional scars that each of us carries around. Events take place in a space of a few days as our heroes try to cope with their past and move on with their lives.

Can you honestly swear that at least once in your life you have not thought that robbing a bank is a good idea? Especially, if you're five years old and that bank has just thrown your parents out of a brand new apartment, because your father has lost his job. Five year old Robby is no Zorro, but he'd like to be. His seven year old sister Louise thinks he's too childish, but can't resist the game of robbing a bank. Together they can pull off just about anything. Getting away with it is the hard part.

A story about the backstage of travelling Latvian puppet theatre "Maska". The group consists of three actors and a tiny bus. They travel around the county performing at clubs in the countryside, schools, kindergartens...

The two sisters' parents have gone abroad to earn the living, so the girls Marta and Linda needs someone to take care of them. For that they have their dictatorial spinster aunt Una, who desperately wants to get married, and has a sympathy for the jeweler Ivo. Meanwhile, Marta is working hard to get a promised puppy, but her plans are ruined, as her aunt feels a strong despise for dogs. So, the relations between the girls and their aunt becomes really tense. Until the perfect plan of the sisters - to help the aunt to get married, to get rid of her.

Late in a winter evening an amateur walker with his pals takes a short cut through a spooky cemetery. Everything would be fine except he stumbles. He wakes up in strange, haunted place, where time and space have lost the boundaries.

The Estonians and Latvians join hands in this jointly produced Baltic comedy about love and theft centering on light-fingered Margita. Everything and anything that hasn't been nailed to the spot winds up in her possession - whether it's a wallet belonging to a passer-by or a Jeep. But the police are on to her and the streets of Riga are becoming just a little too dangerous for Margita these days (played by rising Latvian star Rezija Kalniņa). She decides to break camp and hitchhike her way up north coming to rest at a little place called Vineeri in Estonia, where she soon finds herself looking after an entire household, including three men and a small boy.

Aivars Freimanis' documentary consisting of small episodes from a trip to Kurzeme.

A story about the Livonian (Liv) language going extinct, and about the people still trying to keep it alive.

A documentary essay about an unusual 17-year-old who lives on an island in a marsh and draws his life.