Arvīds Ceļmalis

Direct and meticulous observation of interpersonal relations is a classic subject in documentary films. In this film the title of which alludes to “Hamlet”, we will observe the birth of compassion in people. Compassion is something that has to be dealt with in very rigorous terms, something that needs to be stripped of the layers of clichés that this word has amassed over the years. Is it always a true feeling or just an imitation? How does a deep compassion spring forth? Who are the true “masters of compassion” and what are they like?

More than twenty years after Vladimir Putin came to supreme power in Russia on May 7, 2000, Russian society is deeply divided. A young, modern generation opposes the growing repression by the regime, which still retains the support of many members of previous generations. Who are these ordinary citizens who dream of living in a different Russia? What price will they have to pay to achieve the freedom and justice they so desire?

New performers have recently moved into the 130-year-old building of the Riga Circus. Having built a stage in the stables, actors Ance, Āris, Klāvs, Reinis and the other members of the theatre company Kvadrifrons are reinvigorating and preserving the tradition of live art in the circus. The name of the group is an acronym in Latvian that conveys their ethos: they are an organisation that can chill with their friends, have bursts of amazing creativity, and whose members are far from unintelligent. And all the while, the strong smell of elephants wafts through the building. Here and there, the life of the previous inhabitants makes itself known. Soon shamanistic rituals alternate with clowning around, fortune-telling with illusion juggling, stagecraft with personal choices. Then suddenly, out of Nothing… emerges Theatre.

Dinārs is a Latvian schlager singer popular with the ladies and known for his big cat mane. The eponymous film follows his path over a turbulent season of work.

Ilze Burkovska, a little girl who is obsessed with stories of World War II and will be a filmmaker in a distant future, lives in Latvia under the totalitarian boot of the Soviets and the ominous shadow of the many menaces and horrors of the Cold War.

Annia (28) lives in Riga and always is in a process and finding her own way, expressing herself in multiple roles. She works as a show manager at The New Riga Theatre, but later she needs to find out how to be unemployed. She teaches tap dance in her own studio, and a great part of her life is to be Dr. Clown in Children's clinical hospital.

An affirmative film about the price of risk and patriotism that is possible only for adventurists. Ivars Beitāns and his team do the impossible – in spite of obstacles they build a Latvian pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai, switch on the vertical wind tunnels and fly in sight of the whole world. But what is the price of the flight? What should one do to not let his whole life “pass by”?

Three elderly country bachelors idle away their time amidst semi-wild nature, closer to birds and pond fish than to humans.

In the ice-free months of the year Father Gennady captains a barge transformed into a floating Orthodox Church on a mission trip along the Volga-Don Canal to the remote Russian villages. At each port of call Father Gennady leads church services, distributes holy sacraments and hears confessions. But some unexpected circumstances cause the mission to suddenly take a rather different turn.

In the early 1980’s two hundred pairs of common terns (Sterna hirundo) were forced to abandon their last natural nesting place on a river island near a major European capital Riga. Looking for a new habitat, the birds chose the flat pebbled roof of a concrete island – a printing house – in the middle of the city. The first generation of birds to grow up on this roof and fly to Southern Africa every winter have covered the distance from the Earth to the Moon. During the film various human attitudes towards the terns will emerge. The attitude of the birds is clear – they view things form above.