Valdis Celmiņš

The epic story of one of the most iconic Latvian rock bands – Jumprava [Yumpravah]. The feature film tells the story about how the electronic rock group Jumprava was founded in 1984 and how it evolved throughout the years until 1991. With their songs and their unique style, Jumprava encouraged the “third awakening” in Latvia and inspired young people to dream big on this side of the Iron Curtain.

Through following the twists and turns of three generations of women in the Russian-speaking Latvian film director’s family, the film attempts to look at the reality of the half-million community of Russians in the Baltic countries in 2020. Through the story of a grandmother – a veteran of the Second World War who came to Latvia in 1955 in search of a better life, a mother – a lecturer in a closing down Transport and Telecommunication Institute , and an eighteen-year-old daughter – an artist, a student of the prestigious Latvian Art School. The film tries to understand whether this family managed to find its place in the new society after 30 years of Latvian Independence.

Bruno is doing time in prison for a bank robbery. On Christmas day he receives a letter from his son, which makes him want to break out of prison immediately. His escape plan and his accomplice are in place, but a “Christmas miracle” turns everything upside down. A search for the escaped prisoner begins. To stay hidden he is suddenly forced to not only dress in a Santa Claus costume, but also spend Christmas Eve with a police officer and his family in their holiday cabin. While Bruno is only thinking about getting away, the police officer’s children only want Santa to help save their family which is on the edge of breaking apart. Will Bruno be able to save this family or will he be captured before getting where he needs to be?

Through six very different families, documentary “The Land” shows the variety of the countryside in the 21st century, the contradictions of countryside living as well as illusions about farmer’s life. There are various reasons why our protagonists chose to live in the homesteads, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Some were done with spending too much time in an office, traffic and living a virtual life, they wanted real, tangible things. Some have moved to countryside by their own choice, but some by predisposition of their families. But what unites them all - they aspire for the stability provided by their own land and house. Together with our protagonists, we will spend one year’s cycle of farmer’s life, that will start with the spring sowing and finish with the autumn harvest and land preparation for the next year.

Andrejs, a meticulous outdoor adventure guide, takes a film crew to a wild river valley for a vegetarian sausage commercial shoot. The enterprise suffers an unexpected setback as the crew goes missing. Little they know that in autumn the valley unleashes a strange, wondrous phenomenon whose reckless power does not spare even the locals. Finding the missing clients is no child’s play because he who seeks to find will lose himself.

Mother takes her eight-year-old daughter Antonia to a children’s creativity camp. Antonia is not happy about having to spend time under close adult supervision. On their way, she spots a sign saying ”The Robots Have Escaped!” The sign unleashes Antonia’s imagination and grows into a fantasy of how exciting her stay in the camp might turn out to be. Of course, Antonia’s and the robots’ paths intersect at the camp, where they intend to steal children’s dreams during their afternoon nap to convert them into ingenious commercials. Thriller-like events unfold. Thanks to Antonia’s inquisitive and rebellious nature and with her best friend and favourite toy Yeti by her side, the robots’ intention is averted.

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?

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.

A story of a Latvian family making tentative plans to return to Latvia. Ģirts, a doctor working in Denmark for nine years, receives an invitation to set up a professional practice back in Latvia – a welcome opportunity, as he would like to look after his parents better. But things aren't as simple as that, and his family is divided over the issue.

In the Cold War years of the 1970s, an American patrol boat meets a Soviet ship off the east coast of the United States for talks about fishing rights in the Atlantic. In the midst of this, while Russian commanders are aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel where the talks are being held, a Lithuanian sailor jumps across the ten feet of icy water separating the boats. Crash-landing on the deck of the American ship, he desperately begs for asylum. Though they try, the Americans ultimately fail to provide protection and the Soviets are allowed to capture him and brutally return him to their vessel. Thus begins a stranger-than-fiction story of imprisonment, discovery, fame, and freedom. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic first-person re-enactment of that fateful day by Simas Kudirka, the would-be defector himself, this tale of one of the biggest Cold War muddles takes us on a journey of uncanny twists of fate, and the emotional sacrifices of becoming a universal symbol of freedom.

A laid-back journey in search of one of the world’s most fascinating families, observed and examined from within its most intimate relationships, where the truth and depth of a memoir meet the ironic tone of an indie comedy.

Three best friends have to attend funeral, organize a stag party and to be on time for wedding. Personal problems and close time draw three friends into crazy adventures.

In a completely typical building, in a typical apartment, in a completely typical kid's room there stands a not at all typical wardrobe. Behind its doors, behind the dresses and blouses, the shirts and trousers that obediently live on the hangers, lives a secret darkness of the imagination from which some interesting characters appear and begin to live in the children's room. You only need to knock to see how the dust fairies start to play with others in the room - even starting to play the piano! This is a carefree story about the world which goes up! and down!

The documentary explores issues of beauty and acceptance in a culture increasingly saturated with idealised and unattainable ideals of femininity. It is a story about the world of young girls in today's Latvia, based on conversations about girls' attitudes towards the world and their place in it.

Depois de testemunhar sua mãe sendo baleada pelas tropas invasoras alemãs, Arturs, de 16 anos, junto com seu pai, decide se alistar nos batalhões de fuzileiros da Letônia do Exército Imperial Russo, na esperança de se vingar e encontrar a glória. Arturs continua a lutar na Primeira Guerra Mundial na Frente Oriental, onde perde seu pai e irmão, e rapidamente se desilude. Eventualmente, Arturs retorna ao seu recém-proclamado país para lutar na Guerra da Independência da Letônia e começar tudo do zero.

Depois de testemunhar sua mãe sendo baleada pelas tropas invasoras alemãs, Arturs, de 16 anos, junto com seu pai, decide se alistar nos batalhões de fuzileiros da Letônia do Exército Imperial Russo, na esperança de se vingar e encontrar a glória. Arturs continua a lutar na Primeira Guerra Mundial na Frente Oriental, onde perde seu pai e irmão, e rapidamente se desilude. Eventualmente, Arturs retorna ao seu recém-proclamado país para lutar na Guerra da Independência da Letônia e começar tudo do zero.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, I had my friends, but now they're dead.” When Anna Zaķis was young, she experienced the upswing of social networks. Once active cultural life has slowed down but the desire for real conversations is still there. She will fight to the end... for a chance to talk with someone.

During Latvia’s centennial year, 15 filmmakers created each his own film portrait of a person living in Latvia on the background of centenary events. Documentary 2018 combines these stories into a unique poetic vision based on analogy with the documentary 235 000 000, a classic of the Riga school of poetic documentary cinema. This film is an attempt to make sure whether the codes of the poetic cinema are still relevant and accessible today.

At the beginning of the 1960s, when the French pioneers of cinéma vérité set out to achieve a new realism, and when direct cinema in Québec began to vie for notice, the Baltics wit-nessed the birth of a generation of documentarists who favored a more romantic view of the world around them. This meditative documentary essay – from a Latvian writer and Lithuanian director whose composed touch has long dovetailed with the stylistically diverse works of the Baltic New Wave – pushes adroitly past the limits of the common his-toriographic investigation to create a portrait of less-clearly remembered filmmakers. The result is a consummate poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation. Also a cinematic poem about cinema poets.

The To Be Continued documentary follows lives of five children throughout their first school year. Kārlis's family is firmly rooted in the Latvian countryside. Gleb's grandparents came to Latvia only in the Soviet period. Zane's family are first-generation urban-dwellers. Anastasija's family moved from the city to the countryside. Anete's mum lives and works in England. The film explores how these choices made by adults are reflected in a child's thinking.

O maligno e cínico guerreiro cruzado Max von Buxhoveden está tentando destruir as crenças pagãs do povo espalhando mentiras e fomentando a dissidência. O velho rei das últimas terras pagãs livres está em seu leito de morte e sem um herdeiro para ocupar seu lugar. Max quer assumir o trono e reinar sobre a antiga tribo do rei. Inesperadamente, com sua respiração agonizante, o rei passa seu anel para seu sobrinho Namejs. Namejs, que cresceu entre os sacerdotes pagãos e estudou a sabedoria antiga, agora tem que defender seu povo. Será ele capaz de desvendar o segredo do Anel e obter seu poder?

Por trás das equipes de elite do ciclismo mundial há lutadores desconhecidos, verdadeiros heróis do ciclismo, que caem, se levantam e voltam. Uma odisseia que revela um olhar incomum sobre os "maravilhosos perdedores", aqueles que sacrificam as suas carreiras profissionais pela glória dos seus companheiros de equipe. O que os motiva a continuar, a pedalar no absoluto anonimato, em um dos esportes mais exigentes física e psicologicamente? Seguimos esses "Sancho Pança" do ciclismo profissional durante sete anos e descobrimos a vida - até então invisível - desses homens, sem os quais as equipes profissionais ficariam sem pódio, nem troféu.

During the soviet time choosing the fate of a rock musician was similar to being a dissident.

Accomplished European scenographer and educator Andris Freibergs paints a self-portrait by shaping the stage for an imaginary production titled “Andris Freibergs”. He transforms himself into a space that contains close to eighty years worth of stunning success, tragic loss, birth and death. It is an attempt to create the perfect empty space – one that would simultaneously encompass everything and nothing, the beginning and the end.

This film represents a figurative view on the developments of contemporary art in Latvian modern environment by following the path of a piece of art to the audience for a certain period of time and by finding a unified system of characters in the process. One piece of art is advancing the story on the background of a previous piece, the next one is continuing it in another direction just like in a movie two shots alongside create the third one and result in another modern art object – film.

A dreamer by nature, Quanqi Zhu decides to set up a unique installation at the hillside of Sacred Songshan mountain in China. Despite the language barrier, his best companion is Latvian architect Austris Mailitis. As the building of the object begins, the creators themselves have to levitate between cultural differences, conventions and personal ambitions.

In the early 1920s, soon after the Latvian republic was established, about 2000 Baptists immigrated to Brazil to await the end of the world. It did not come, and Latvians created an island of Christianity in the middle of a rainforest. The Latvian language is still spoken in the Vārpa settlement, but the younger generations have left the area.

After fighting over toys, two kids – brother and sister – experience adventurous yet dangerous journey in the magic kingdom under the sand box, where, accompanied by their extraordinary nanny the witch, they learn about the power of companionship.

Choosing the fate of a rock musician was similar to being a dissident. From the 60s, the Soviet Union tried to discourage and restrict the expansion of rock music by any means. They called it the “rotten fruit of degraded capitalism, demoralizing the minds of Soviet youth”. Despite that, rock music broke the wall – made a hole in the Iron Curtain – and gained the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of young people.Rock musicians were on the frontline of the rebellion against the Soviet regime. Despite censorship, they managed to deliver, in a hidden, roundabout way through lyrics and music, the spirit of nonconformity and freedom of choice to their audience. A film about Latvian and Soviet rock pioneers, their lives and destinies.

The Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia, which has a mostly Armenian population, suffers under silent ethnic tensions caused by a historical burden. It is a unique place to study the role of the human factor in ethnic conflicts through the eyes of a Georgian photographer and the ears of a Latvian film director.

Budding lawyer Vik is disappointed in himself. He tries to change and please everyone until he looses sight of himself. Vik meets the mysterious Mirror Man who offers to help him regain his self-esteem and become the kind of person Vik dreams of becoming. Vik agrees, but the Mirror Man at times leaves Vik in situations where he surprises others not just by his new-found self-confidence, but also by insolence that causes a rift with his closest friends. Soon the Mirror Men in Vik’s life are too many to control, and when he tries to back away – it’s too late. Vik has alienated himself from his own essence and become one of them – a nameless, faceless human devoid of personality.

When the world was younger, ships, explorers and merchants carried not only foreign goods, but also stories. Those stories drew a map of the world and taught people that there are broader horizons beyond their own fences. Baltic amber has always been valued as the Gold of the North, so two young Latvians set out on the ancient amber trade route from the Baltic coast to the south of India to learn how this Stone of the Sun has changed the world we live in.

Seven versions of Riga, the city on the Baltic Sea, and its features as seen by outstanding European film directors: Sergei Loznitsa (The Old Jewish Cemetery), Ivars Seleckis (On Ķīpsala), Audrius Stonys (Riga Boats), Jaak Kilmi (Littering Prohibited!), Jon Bang Karlsen (Cats in Riga), Rainer Komers (Daugava Delta), and Bettina Henkel (Theatre Street 6).

A high-school folk dancing group heads to Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, an event that takes place every five years and is part of the Latvian national identity – this is the culmination point of five years of work. Away from their homes and parents, they spend seven days and nights together. They are 18 and have just graduated, and this seems to be the last idle summer of their lives. Dreams mix with boredom, silly jokes with serious conversations. Taking care of one another creates affection and grows into a collective power. There are thousands like them at the festival. Every individual sensation turns into a common celebration that becomes more than just a tradition.

The code to unlocking this feature documentary is 1949, the year the director was born, and also the year of the return of Soviet repressions to Latvia. The film tells a very personal story against the background of less visited historic events – the death of director’s father due to the KGB repressions, which is closely linked to the devious game Soviet Latvia’s KGB played against Swedish-British-American spy agencies.

Basketball is more than a game. Each team is made from the work of many, but its success is only measured in wins. The film follows the 54th season of the VEF basketball team’s daily life, and explores its history in order to understand what makes a good team: players, coaches, captains, or perhaps just pure luck and budget.

This creative documentary tells the story of women in art – what she has to sacrifice in her personal life and what choices have to be made in order to gain success in her career. The film explores life of artist, by following theatre director’s Mara Kimele's fighting relationships with her despotic grandmother Anna Lacis (widely known as Asya, whose life is closely tied to the names of Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brech), cynical son Peteris (who is played by an actor) and work while she stages F. Dostoevsky's “Crime and Punishment”. Every character of film is an act. But does that make them any less real? And what is real in the world of art? Apart from its human character's, the film also has an animated one – the horse, who came into life through the first letter Mara wrote to her grand mother and has been following her ever since.

Psychological thriller connecting three different people in the mysterious vortex, trying to untangle the dramatic fight of border between the truth and fantasy. Rob, a former real estate broker, unemployed, starts following a strange Japanese woman, Oki, who constantly moves from house to house. He drags his roommate Wylie into the investigation during which they have to face the dark past and curse of Oki, while dealing with the history of their own.

The film is based on true events, it tells the stories of two outstanding personalities of the 20th century – Sergei Eisenstein and Isaiah Berlin, who were both born and spent their childhood in Riga but soon had to leave the city. The film follows the lives of the two characters during the turbulent first half of the 20th century, telling how one of them becomes “the greatest film director of his generation” in the totalitarian Soviet Union, and the other “the greatest thinker of his generation” in liberal Great Britain.

I was nine years old when my mother took me away from home for the first time – to Leningrad. For those of us behind the Iron Curtain, this was a Big Trip. Later, I couldn’t remember anything I had seen or done except for a large, colourful tourist bus from Switzerland – the only object with which I wanted to be photographed. That bus symbolized the world for me – large and beckoning, full of travel and adventure. Now I am 35 and I’ve been to 39 countries. 20 years of wandering around the world with a camera makes one wonder – why on earth do I want to travel?

After the fall of the Soviet Union large numbers of immigrants from the East stayed in Latvia for good, Latvians simply call them “Russians”. Over 20 years of independence later mutual suspicion and bias are still there in the most part of the local community. Therefore, a Latvian director involves an independent Russian speaking Norwegian colleague in helping him understand Latvian “Russians” and coming up with an integration plan. But soon enough it becomes clear that only Latvians themselves can manage the challenge. And so begins director’s journey away from the division “us / them”.

Albert is an old man who lives in a house surrounded by the forest. Since the death of his wife, he spends his days in solitude. Driven by loneliness, despair and a longing for his deceased wife, Albert agrees to participate in a spiritual séance, just to be with her one last time. The séance fails; however, it triggers a chain of surreal events that give him hope of regaining that which seemed lost forever. Unfortunately, these events happen only in Albert’s unconscious mind.

There is a Man, called Mitrais by locals, who is one of the first professional nature inspectors in Latvia. For an older generation people his name is associated with an image of a real ranger, while youngsters who know him highly respect him. Mitrais is sure that among today’s youth there are more idealists than ever before. And they are ready to do something real and tangible, and not surrender to the overwhelming virtual pseudo-reality.

It’s summer in a village by the sea, and a retired actor once again invites locals to participate in an open-air opera performance. During the past ten years they’ve staged many classical operas; this year it’s time for Schoenberg and Verdi.

It is nice and fun to have a cat or some other pet at home to play with. The trusting cat also thought to himself: it's so great to have a home... Until the moment it found itself trapped in a bag, somewhere out on the street, all alone, left to it's faith. Nevertheless - all is well that ends well!

As every evening, the Ghost goes to work – to haunt and frighten. Even in his worst nightmares the Ghost hadn’t imagined he’ll meet such a ‘terrifying’ girl who is not afraid of him. But it happened...

There is a popular Latvian folksong which begins with the phrase "I was singing out high on a mountain". The irony of it is that according to physical geography there are no mountains in Latvia. So what exactly is the place where the Latvians are "singing out"? It may be safely said that it's the same place where they are skiing. That's how we make mountains out of molehills...Snow-covered mountains, to be sure.

Aleksander Laime, romanticist and dreamer at heart, went deep into the jungle of Venezuela in search of Jimmy Angel’s famed ‘Diamond River’. While it was never publicized if he succeeded in his search, residents of Canaima still refer to him as their ancestors once named him – ‘The King of Diamonds’. Through gaining trust, Laime was to see something no other man had ever seen, but was forbidden from entering the place ever again.

Latvians think through mud and view the world through a “muddy” filter. Where does the mud come from, and why does it invariably remain: in this country, this language, and in our souls? Mud doesn’t just appear from tears falling upon dry earth. Mud also comes from spillover, done out of joy. And the mud itself creates happiness and inspiration for new mud.

This is a film about the generation of the 1970s, about its teenage dreams, hopes, choices and its adulthood reality. When the director of the film was in year 7 at school, he got a 8 mm film camera from his dad. The first thing he did was film his classmates and record their visions of future. Thirty years have passed. The future is here. Have they succeeded in fulfilling their dreams?

A short poetic documentary about greatest miracle in the world - birth.

The time for the annual great graveyard celebration is approaching in a small town. Scientist Laila can’t attend it alone this year. She has to make a choice.

Pēteris doesn’t get a chance to go pee before the start of the closing race of the semester’s swimming lessons, but he lacks the courage to back out of such a pressure-filled situation. It gets even worse when Pēteris learns that a red spot appears when pool water comes in contact with urine. In facing such a hardship, the boy must become a man.

Pēteris doesn’t get a chance to go pee before the start of the closing race of the semester’s swimming lessons, but he lacks the courage to back out of such a pressure-filled situation. It gets even worse when Pēteris learns that a red spot appears when pool water comes in contact with urine. In facing such a hardship, the boy must become a man.

Pēteris doesn’t get a chance to go pee before the start of the closing race of the semester’s swimming lessons, but he lacks the courage to back out of such a pressure-filled situation. It gets even worse when Pēteris learns that a red spot appears when pool water comes in contact with urine. In facing such a hardship, the boy must become a man.

A reindeer herdsman’s life is as gently monotonous as the tundra itself. It flows in synchrony with the life of the reindeer herd from one migration to the next. The time between these two points belongs entirely to the herdsman. It’s áigi - the herdsman’s time.

The European championship football madness, drunken "experts" at the provincial stadium, the backstage of National team, raving fans at the streets of Paris and Lisbon. Football is a sport and entertainment through possibly there is more to the game. In the film "Working Class Ballet" philosophers, linguists, neuropsychologist and football coach are contemplating on the parallels between football and drama of life, forming an unusual tale on what football is or could be.

Five men from Latvia - two bussinessmen, an experienced traveller, a cameraman, and their tour guide - head out to tame the fastest flowing river in North America - Stikine. But unexpected winter sets in, placing them in a situaltion that could cost them their lives. Despite locals’ advice, men decide to press on, leading them to dramatic events, that were not supposed to happen.

In the godforsaken land on both sides of the Latvian-Estonian border people are awaiting "the coming of Europe" in candlelight with no electricity. This film paints the difference between urban consciousness and simpler rural values.

In the godforsaken land on both sides of the Latvian-Estonian border people are awaiting "the coming of Europe" in candlelight with no electricity. This film paints the difference between urban consciousness and simpler rural values.

A struggling actress, a teacher, a former seaman, a policeman and a veterinarian all have a common line of work – conducting funerals. For one it’s a passion, for one a duty, but for another it’s a chance to earn a little extra...

The narrow, sandy strip of the seashore is a neutral zone that belongs equally to the sea and the mainland. This zone possesses an unusual chracteristic, namely, it attracts people with a practically magnetic power, transforming the beach into something like a playground where the old and the new, the primitive and the civilised, the traditional and the modern all coexist.

It's Latvia on the 20th of September, 2003 - the day of the referendum about joining the European Union. On the day of the referendum, twelve Latvian film directors of different generations portray twelve different characters across the country. Their life stories and environments affect their decision of voting “for” or “against”.