Kārlis Auzāns

A film about the outstanding Latvian film director Juris Podnieks, who during his lifetime gained the fame of a fighter for justice and an "eye-opener". Podnieks has created testimonies about the most important events of the twentieth century in the post-Soviet territory. He always saw a bigger picture, it was not just Latvia what interested him. His ability to cover such a wide spectrum of themes - wars, lost freedom of his own country, the Soviet regime and its collapse, young people, artists. But most importantly, he was always focusing on the human soul. Juris creates an emotional bond between the author and his characters, the characters and the viewer - he was talking to each individual. Perhaps this is why his films made such an effect on the viewer. Juris Podnieks has clearly been able to influence millions of viewers with his films. Juris himself died in the summer of 1992 in a diving accident. Did he manage to fulfill his mission in this life?

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.

A gang of five children spend their summer in an abandoned factory complex. When they are forbidden to go there by the factory owner for safety reasons, the children decide to ignore the ban. This decision changes their lives forever and the friends face a grim confrontation.

Artis Baranovskis is a "registrator". He helps his clients by setting up a fake companies. An hour before leaving to his own wedding, Artis has to find Jana, who's a fake shareholder of a company with a million euros on its account. Once she's found and her looks changed to those of a rich lady, Jana realizes her power and starts to play her own game. "Right Hand Man" is a crime comedy about money, accounts and troublesome thieves.

They are bonded by their pain, longing, and their current residence – a semi-open prison for women. While staging Anton Chekhov’s play, Three Sisters, together with professional actors, imprisoned women reveal their harrowing life-stories, dreams and the longing for a decent life outside the prison walls.

Two boys find an unusual plastic bag with no handle. It turns out to be alive, moving around and being angry because it has become useless to everyone. The angry bag together with the boys is trying to find a new meaning of its life and a new use for other plastic bags that have become real trash hooligans.

Ieva has been an obedient granddaughter for years – choosing a safe career in a bank as her grandmother wanted. Her mother left the family years ago when she had to look for work abroad. That has made ties between Ieva and her grandmother especially tight. Dissatisfaction with the constant adaption to the material world is flickering under the surface and Ieva lives her dreamlife with her friends. She plays the keyboard in a girl band and stays out late. When Ieva decides to have a provocative tattoo on her arm made, her grandmother goes completely nuts.

Погружение в интимную жизнь Михаила Горбачева, последнего лидера СССР. Архитектор перестройки и гласности, которого превозносили на Западе, но поносили в его собственной стране, который, несмотря на преклонный возраст, одиночество и болезни, все еще борется, предлагает свое личное и политическое завещание.

Moving from Latvia to exotic Indonesia has proven to be quite a challenge for Paula’s (10) family. Her Mother has a hard time adapting to the country. Her sister, Kate (14), is entering puberty, and her Father’s workaholic nature is causing tension in the family. Luckily, the local boy Akhim (12) offers a ray of hope by telling Paula about special Shaman living in the jungle who has a superpower to bring Christmas everywhere. That must be Santa Claus himself! Kids join on a joyful adventure to find Christmas in the Jungle!

Действие фильма происходит в поместье «Фитингофф», расположенном в уединенной сельской местности. Его владельцы, супружеская пара Фитингофф, открыли пансионат особого профиля. Для привлечения зарубежных постояльцев в номерах замка, в старом парке с прудом воссоздан материальный мир и атмосфера 30-х годов прошлого века. По правилам заведения здесь запрещено пользоваться современными средствами связи, и гости, хотя бы на время пребывания в пансионате, могут стать недосягаемыми для внешнего мира, «исчезнуть из эфира» своих повседневных отношений и обязанностей. Но над всем властвует природа: трехнедельный зной и сопутствующая ему духота угнетающе подействовали на людей, и все они оказались на грани легкого помешательства.

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.

Shortly after the fall of the iron curtain, 12-year-old Kovas, travels to his mother, Viktorija’s homeland for the first time. It has been 20 years since Viktorija escaped the USSR and has now returned to reclaim her beloved family estate.

In the minds of people, Brussels is no longer a geographical location; it is now a myth-surrounded centre, where decisions are made regarding future life in Europe. The most brilliant minds from the European countries have convened in Brussels: former state leaders, highly-placed officials, advisors, translators and interpreters, as well as family members of all these people. Together, they comprise a sort of separate planet ruled by special laws and using new methods of communication; it is a place of a high concentration of power and all sorts of creature comforts. The anxiety following the 2016 attacks on Brussels has taken everyone by surprise, and the question whether to stay on Planet Brussels now comes up increasingly often. The Brexit news gave completely different kind of concussion to the commonly established center of Europe.

For many years, Saturday market in Skulte has been one of the main events of the week. The roles in the market have been carefully divided among the locals – there’s the pastor of the local parish, the bell-ringer, the pharmacist and the nearby residing sheepman, and it’s been long since it’s not just a customer-vendor relationship among them. Suddenly the owner of the market comes on the scene – he has decided to move it all to a new location, which so far has been known as an accident blackspot.

The Crazy Fox, familiar from the children’s books, is now roaming around a maritime village experiencing unusual and impetuous things – she saves a snail, overfeeds on pears, jumps up and down on a trampoline, becomes friends with a mermaid and helps her escape an aquarium.

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.

The only novel written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1958), just like its screen adaptation by Luchino Visconti, is considered a masterpiece. This film tells about the life of Tomasi and his German-Baltic wife Alexandra von Wolff-Stomersee – their unusual love story. The chaos of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and World War II forced Alexandra to leave St. Petersburg and later on – the family's castle in Stāmeriena, Latvia. During the war, in 1943, she fled to her husband in Palermo, where she would live until the day she died.

“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.

События фильма начинаются 31 декабря 1999 года, когда россиянам представили их нового президента. Фильм основан на уникальных и строго документальных свидетельствах истинных причин и последствий операции «преемник», в результате которой Россия оказалась с президентом, который правит страной до сих пор. Главными героями фильма являются Михаил Горбачев, Борис Ельцин, Владимир Путин и русский народ, который как всегда безмолвствует.

Latvian Imants Tillers is one of the most important Australian artists of his generation, creator of installations, sculptures, paintings and graphic arts. His work is a kind of a world book – events connect and cultural references intertwine in a mutually interactive system, nurturing his own search for identity.

Герои документального фильма «Продолжение следует» - пятеро детей, за которыми зритель наблюдает на протяжении их первого года в школе. Семья Карлиса живет в латышской глубинке. Бабушка и дедушка Глеба приехали в Латвию только в советское время. Родители Зейн – городские жители в первом поколении. Семья Анастасии переехала в город из деревни. Мама Анет живет и работает в Англии. Этот фильм - рассказ о том, как выбор родителей отражается на детском мышлении.

Ленинград, 1970. Группа еврейских диссидентов планирует угнать пустой самолёт и покинуть СССР. Задержанные КГБ в нескольких шагах до посадки в самолёт, члены этой группы были приговорены к длительным срокам строгого и особо строгого режима заключения в лагерях. Двое из них были приговорены к смертной казни. 45 лет спустя режиссёр Анат Залмансон-Кузнецов в своём фильме «Операция свадьба» передает захватывающую историю своих родителей, лидеров этой группы, признанных на западе героями, но по сей день считающимися террористами в России.

Россия. Две противоборствующие силы — Художник и Власть. У Петра Павленского для борьбы с нарастающим давлением и пропагандой есть только одно средство — голое тело. Временами оно сильнее огромного механизма, ломающего собственные запчасти. Акции Павленского меняют каждого, кто с ним соприкасается.

Историческая картина воссоздает реалии одной из самых драматичных для Латвии эпох — масштабной массовой депортации 1941 года.

нна и Юхан получили шанс попробовать наладить отношения, отдыхая в загородном доме своих состоятельных друзей. В разыгравшуюся непогоду они пускают переночевать пару, которая принимает их за хозяев дома. Анна и Юхан быстро осваивают новую роль и начинают игру, которая ведёт их на грань краха.

When a chicken is kidnapped by two thieves, a lively adventure full of humor and with a surprising twist begin.

Это фильм об идеальной жизни в идеальной стране - Северной Корее. И о том как в этот эталонный мир вливаются новые идеальные люди. По сюжету, ученица идеальной школы и дочь идеальных родителей работающих на идеальных предприятиях, живущих в идеальной квартире, в центре идеального города, готовится к вступлению в детский союз с тем, чтобы стать частью идеального общества, озаряемого сияющим Солнцем символизирующим Великого Вождя народа Ким Ир Сена. Получив разрешение севрокорейских властей на съемки этой истории, режиссёр Виталий Манский снял не только созданное специально для него пропагандистское шоу, но и, незаметно для своих кураторов, сам процесс создания мифа об идеальном обществе. По большому счёту, получился фильм о фильме, но именно благодаря этому зрителям удаётся заглянуть за «железный занавес», ведь на сегодняшний день Северная Корея остаётся самой закрытой страной, жёстко отстаивающей свой "особый путь".

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.

A film examining the game of doubles of democracy and capitalism since the restoration of independence in Latvia. Freedom from the USSR, pilfering the state, victory in Eurovision, joining the EU and NATO, the greatest crisis in the world – a quarter century of contrast and challenges.

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.

A poetic portrait of the western coastline of Latvia that, accompanied by songs about fish and the sea, roaring of vessel engines and factory alacrity, gives a glimpse into the life by the sea where the smell of fish and sea water is still present.

The story of the German occupation of Latvia and one of Rīga’s major 20th century historical tragedies, which will be remembered by the people of Rīga forever. French teacher Riva Šefere, lawyer Aleksandrs Bergmanis, music teacher Gabriela Paraša, film historian Valentīna Freimane and historian and founder of the museum “Jews in Latvia” Marģers Vetermanis are just a few of the 30 000 Latvian Jews who were imprisoned in the Riga ghetto. These are eyewitness memories of the holocaust that need to be told.

One spring morning, animals wake up from their winter sleep and find that their forest is taken over by people who have built a city there. They understand they need to find new survival strategies and learn to earn money.

A documentary about two 13-year-old girls, both obsessed with fashion and developing their personal style. One of the girls lives in a small town in Latvia, the other one - in Norway. How do their surroundings influence their acts of self-expression? And how do their mothers cope with the idea that their little daughters are becoming adults?

After the lives of several people are tied into a intriguing knot upon meeting police officer Krasts one hot summer day, they’re all brought together again on a full moon winter night. Intrigue develops among a couple of lovers, Gints and Elga, three adventure-race participants with one woman, Renate, on their team, three generations of a family whose father, Karlis, died in a tragic hunting accident, Karlis’s daughter Aija, his former lover Livija, and a young girl hardened by life, who lives at a Christian home for expectant mothers. A detective twist is added by a bit of poison, which one of them will get.

A young married housewife's dull routine is enlivened as she spies on the sexual escapades of her fencing instructor neighbour. She too is seduced by him, but the fear of losing her family results in hysteria and an unpredictable climax.

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.

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.