Una Celma

The five heroines of "Women without men" are ordinary Ukrainian women - mothers, daughters, wives who have fled because of the war. Women from all corners of Ukraine. They probably would have never met in their lives if fate hadn't brought these women together in Latvia. How they decided to go to a foreign land, how they got out of the territories occupied and bombed by Russia, how they were greeted in their new lives, how to find a place in this new reality, how to be alone in charge of everything, to find a place to live, a job. How to deal with your internal crisis, how not to go crazy longing for your home. What to say to your own children, what it means to hear from a husband once a day at a certain agreed time and what happens if he doesn't call. How to find the strength to continue... They seek answers to these questions as they try to learn to learn to live anew.

The five heroines of "Women without men" are ordinary Ukrainian women - mothers, daughters, wives who have fled because of the war. Women from all corners of Ukraine. They probably would have never met in their lives if fate hadn't brought these women together in Latvia. How they decided to go to a foreign land, how they got out of the territories occupied and bombed by Russia, how they were greeted in their new lives, how to find a place in this new reality, how to be alone in charge of everything, to find a place to live, a job. How to deal with your internal crisis, how not to go crazy longing for your home. What to say to your own children, what it means to hear from a husband once a day at a certain agreed time and what happens if he doesn't call. How to find the strength to continue... They seek answers to these questions as they try to learn to learn to live anew.

This is an intimate and personal story about women who were supposed to be the children of complete and total socialism, about the environment they grew up in, their youth and their life now. Teacher Lapaine’s class reunion happens every year on March 21. This year is no different. Just like 25 years ago, when director Una Celma first documented her classmates in a film under the same title. The traditional table is set with beverages, cakes and candy, and the yearly photo taken. Nowadays, they are mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Their fates have changed, but what about themselves?

This is an intimate and personal story about women who were supposed to be the children of complete and total socialism, about the environment they grew up in, their youth and their life now. Teacher Lapaine’s class reunion happens every year on March 21. This year is no different. Just like 25 years ago, when director Una Celma first documented her classmates in a film under the same title. The traditional table is set with beverages, cakes and candy, and the yearly photo taken. Nowadays, they are mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Their fates have changed, but what about themselves?

This is an intimate and personal story about women who were supposed to be the children of complete and total socialism, about the environment they grew up in, their youth and their life now. Teacher Lapaine’s class reunion happens every year on March 21. This year is no different. Just like 25 years ago, when director Una Celma first documented her classmates in a film under the same title. The traditional table is set with beverages, cakes and candy, and the yearly photo taken. Nowadays, they are mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Their fates have changed, but what about themselves?

Diana, a woman in her early 40s, struggles to end an abusive relationship with her husband while also trying to protect the only possession their family have left – an apartment in a luxurious part of the city. As the couple’s daughter Astra gets involved in the conflict, Diana will have to make a choice between Astra’s wellbeing and her own goals and convictions.

Diana, a woman in her early 40s, struggles to end an abusive relationship with her husband while also trying to protect the only possession their family have left – an apartment in a luxurious part of the city. As the couple’s daughter Astra gets involved in the conflict, Diana will have to make a choice between Astra’s wellbeing and her own goals and convictions.

Diana, a woman in her early 40s, struggles to end an abusive relationship with her husband while also trying to protect the only possession their family have left – an apartment in a luxurious part of the city. As the couple’s daughter Astra gets involved in the conflict, Diana will have to make a choice between Astra’s wellbeing and her own goals and convictions.

Anastasia is 13 and her sister Diana is 11. The two sisters live in a Latvian orphanage. When they find out that an American family is ready to adopt them, Diana cannot wait to move to the States, while Anastasia is less excited about the idea of leaving her home.

Laine is a college girl from a bland middle-class suburb in Latvia. As Laine’s father distances himself from his crumbling marriage and his family, Laine is unable to cope with the separation and discovers the edgy Riga party scene, where she falls in love with seasoned raver Gunda. Going from rave to rave, the girls journey into a drug-fuelled underworld of anarchy, freedom and exploration.

A runaway bride, a young peasant, mysterious illusionists and a manic investigator become entwined in a murderous affair at a Baltic German baron's manor.

A five-year-old Yazidi boy is released after nearly three years in ISIS captivity. Profoundly disturbed, brainwashed and weaponized by the abuse he endured, he displays violent hatred towards the world around him, and particular revulsion for his mother, who was held hostage alongside him. Imad considers himself to be an ISIS fighter and lashes out against children and adults alike in this intense horror film about a child possessed by terror. As menacing as his behaviour is, it is a mere imitation of the humiliation and brutality he was moulded by. He did exactly as he was told by ISIS in order to survive, and now, surrounded by other survivors, the love of his family and help from a therapist, will he thrive?

A five-year-old Yazidi boy is released after nearly three years in ISIS captivity. Profoundly disturbed, brainwashed and weaponized by the abuse he endured, he displays violent hatred towards the world around him, and particular revulsion for his mother, who was held hostage alongside him. Imad considers himself to be an ISIS fighter and lashes out against children and adults alike in this intense horror film about a child possessed by terror. As menacing as his behaviour is, it is a mere imitation of the humiliation and brutality he was moulded by. He did exactly as he was told by ISIS in order to survive, and now, surrounded by other survivors, the love of his family and help from a therapist, will he thrive?

A problem that every film director has faced – how do you film something that does not exist? A director is making a documentary about an actor and his stalker – but the stalker never appears. As the deadline approaches, unusual steps must be taken.

Through the prism of three distinct characters, the 24-year-old director conveys an intimate and sensitive portrait of his own generation, wanderers looking for their place in the new and uncertain world. Dancer Tanya moves to Mississippi where she finds love with a paraplegic wheelchair basketball trainer who is more than 20 years her senior. App developer Tomass abandons the life he had before and becomes a world-travelling digital nomad. Avant-garde publisher Valters collects toilet seats in a poetically performative attempt to overcome past trauma.

A dreamlike cinematic collage exploring the life, times and choices of the Russian avant-garde theatermaker Vsevolod Meyerhold. An innovative artist becomes a tool in the hands of the socialist revolution.

Two border patrol agents come across a mysterious crashed van near the border of Latvia and Russia.

A documentary about a 78-year-old Indian woman in New York who is the world's most passionate theatergoer. Nicki Cochrane has been seeing a play every day for more than 25 years, acquiring free tickets using a variety of ingenious means.

An ordinary old folks’ home on the Latvian border – one of many, where our parents, grand-parents and other relatives spend their old age. Theirs is the generation whose prime years co-existed with the Soviet Union, and who were promised: work, give all you can, and we’ll take care when you’re old. The system changed and the reality is different. How to live in this reality, accept the current rules, or live in the past and have regrets. We will touch upon their world, and the dreams and hopes of Vilnis, Imants, Alberts and Elizabete.

An ordinary old folks’ home on the Latvian border – one of many, where our parents, grand-parents and other relatives spend their old age. Theirs is the generation whose prime years co-existed with the Soviet Union, and who were promised: work, give all you can, and we’ll take care when you’re old. The system changed and the reality is different. How to live in this reality, accept the current rules, or live in the past and have regrets. We will touch upon their world, and the dreams and hopes of Vilnis, Imants, Alberts and Elizabete.

A unique, engaging film that combines documentary footage with narrative cinema to tell the story of four generations of a Latvian family. Sixteen year-old student Jānis has been given an interesting homework assignment – to draw his family tree and explain it. The story of his family begins with his great-great-grandfather who burned down the manors of German landowners during the 1905 revolution. My Family Tree takes us on a journey to various countries and political regimes, showing Jānis’ ancestors to be people of diverse fates and life stories. A rich Latvian trader, a red rifleman loyal to Lenin, a carpenter with the KGB and war refugees in Sweden are only a few branches on his family tree, and the boy has heard something unusual and unforgettable about each and every one of these people.

A unique, engaging film that combines documentary footage with narrative cinema to tell the story of four generations of a Latvian family. Sixteen year-old student Jānis has been given an interesting homework assignment – to draw his family tree and explain it. The story of his family begins with his great-great-grandfather who burned down the manors of German landowners during the 1905 revolution. My Family Tree takes us on a journey to various countries and political regimes, showing Jānis’ ancestors to be people of diverse fates and life stories. A rich Latvian trader, a red rifleman loyal to Lenin, a carpenter with the KGB and war refugees in Sweden are only a few branches on his family tree, and the boy has heard something unusual and unforgettable about each and every one of these people.

A unique, engaging film that combines documentary footage with narrative cinema to tell the story of four generations of a Latvian family. Sixteen year-old student Jānis has been given an interesting homework assignment – to draw his family tree and explain it. The story of his family begins with his great-great-grandfather who burned down the manors of German landowners during the 1905 revolution. My Family Tree takes us on a journey to various countries and political regimes, showing Jānis’ ancestors to be people of diverse fates and life stories. A rich Latvian trader, a red rifleman loyal to Lenin, a carpenter with the KGB and war refugees in Sweden are only a few branches on his family tree, and the boy has heard something unusual and unforgettable about each and every one of these people.

Two Latvian actors travel the country and visit different witches and healers to find purpose to their lives after years of alcoholism, which has had a great impact on their personal health. On the way they run into trouble, adventure and many comic, as well as tragic, situations.

Two Latvian actors travel the country and visit different witches and healers to find purpose to their lives after years of alcoholism, which has had a great impact on their personal health. On the way they run into trouble, adventure and many comic, as well as tragic, situations.

Two Latvian actors travel the country and visit different witches and healers to find purpose to their lives after years of alcoholism, which has had a great impact on their personal health. On the way they run into trouble, adventure and many comic, as well as tragic, situations.

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 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 portrait of Lars Vilks, the State Secretary of his own micro-nation Ladonia, a sculptor and a scandal-maker (as an art form), and professor of art theory. He is the only Swede, and also the only Latvian (by ancestry), with a price of $150 000 on his head. But perhaps he has been under-valued. A look at Ladonia, and at the nemesis of Swedish officialdom.

A portrait of Lars Vilks, the State Secretary of his own micro-nation Ladonia, a sculptor and a scandal-maker (as an art form), and professor of art theory. He is the only Swede, and also the only Latvian (by ancestry), with a price of $150 000 on his head. But perhaps he has been under-valued. A look at Ladonia, and at the nemesis of Swedish officialdom.

A portrait of Lars Vilks, the State Secretary of his own micro-nation Ladonia, a sculptor and a scandal-maker (as an art form), and professor of art theory. He is the only Swede, and also the only Latvian (by ancestry), with a price of $150 000 on his head. But perhaps he has been under-valued. A look at Ladonia, and at the nemesis of Swedish officialdom.

Elvis is missing, and five of his classmates decide to go looking for him. While in hot pursuit of his tracks, the children are caught up in a whirl of exciting adventures, encountering all sorts of people and unusual situations.

Elvis is missing, and five of his classmates decide to go looking for him. While in hot pursuit of his tracks, the children are caught up in a whirl of exciting adventures, encountering all sorts of people and unusual situations.

Beatrise is drifting in life. She has based her existence on unsuccessful relationships that have collapsed, like sand castles, one after the other. Forced to re-evaluate things, she realizes that she can only achieve harmony by learning to rely on herself, and not on illusory feelings or words.

Beatrise is drifting in life. She has based her existence on unsuccessful relationships that have collapsed, like sand castles, one after the other. Forced to re-evaluate things, she realizes that she can only achieve harmony by learning to rely on herself, and not on illusory feelings or words.

Beatrise is drifting in life. She has based her existence on unsuccessful relationships that have collapsed, like sand castles, one after the other. Forced to re-evaluate things, she realizes that she can only achieve harmony by learning to rely on herself, and not on illusory feelings or words.

Members of a class of the 1980s hold an annual gathering. All together spend one night remembering the passions and hopes of youth and realising what has been achieved or missed.

Members of a class of the 1980s hold an annual gathering. All together spend one night remembering the passions and hopes of youth and realising what has been achieved or missed.

A teenage boy and his uncle compete for the love of a prostitute.

In a Latvian bakery, Aina breaks 40000 eggs per day by hand, and she has done this monotone job for almost 20 years.

In a Latvian bakery, Aina breaks 40000 eggs per day by hand, and she has done this monotone job for almost 20 years.

In a Latvian bakery, Aina breaks 40000 eggs per day by hand, and she has done this monotone job for almost 20 years.

In a Latvian bakery, Aina breaks 40000 eggs per day by hand, and she has done this monotone job for almost 20 years.

The shy scientist Lars decides to publish a small ad in order to find a girlfriend. From the 218 replies, he selects Brigita, an attractive Latvian woman and invites her to Stockholm. But what actually happens after Brigita's arrival is far more complicated than Lars could ever have imagined.

The shy scientist Lars decides to publish a small ad in order to find a girlfriend. From the 218 replies, he selects Brigita, an attractive Latvian woman and invites her to Stockholm. But what actually happens after Brigita's arrival is far more complicated than Lars could ever have imagined.

A film about five Latvian women who were all born the year 1960 and brought up under the Soviet Union regime. When the film starts the Soviet Union has fallen and Latvia is now an independant state. The women are pretty much left to fend for them selves and their children. They describe their lives as divorced and single mothers in a time of social, political and economic crisis. It is a film about broken relationships between men and women, between generations and a society in shambles.