Latvian cinema will have a particularly prominent presence at the upcoming 42nd Warsaw International Film Festival, running from 9-18 October, with four national features and two minority co-productions spread across the International Competition, 1-2 Competition, Free Spirit and Animus. Cinema of Values strands (see the news).

Two of the Latvian titles will have their world premieres at Warsaw. Linda Olte’s The Child, her second feature, has been selected for the International Competition. The filmmaker returns to the Polish festival four years after her debut, Sisters, won both the 1-2 Competition Award and the Award for Best Debut from Eastern Europe in 2022.

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Meanwhile, Reinis Kalviņš’s The Bog will world-premiere in the 1-2 Competition, Warsaw’s section dedicated to first and second features. The film, Kalviņš’s sophomore feature, will subsequently have its Latvian premiere at the Riga International Film Festival on 22 October before reaching domestic cinemas the following day.

Viesturs Kairišs is another filmmaker returning to Warsaw following previous success at the gathering. His new feature, Ulya, has been selected for the Free Spirit section, devoted to formally and artistically adventurous works. Kairišs won Warsaw’s Best Director Award in 2022 for January. Ulya, one of Latvia’s major upcoming domestic releases, thus marks his return to the festival four years later.

The fourth majority-Latvian feature in the programme is Dzintars Dreibergs’ Escape Net, which will have its international premiere in the Animus. Cinema of Values strand. The historical sports drama, released in Latvia in 2025, centres on the story behind the rise of the legendary TTT Riga women’s basketball team.

Latvian participation also extends to two Baltic minority co-productions. Lithuanian filmmaker Kristijonas Vildžiūnas’ Dice-Ching-O-Mat, a Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian co-production, will compete in the International Competition. Latvia is represented on the production by Riga-based Studio Locomotive, while Jurģis Kmins served as director of photography.

Estonian director Jaak Kilmi’s Dirt in Your Face, meanwhile, is screening alongside Ulya in Free Spirit. The Estonian-Latvian co-production was made with Latvian outfit Film Angels Production, with Andris Grants handling the editing.

The country will also be present on the industry side of the festival. Dreibergs’ next feature-length project, Brothers’ War, is among the 16 titles selected for the Warsaw Co-Production Forum, where projects in development and works in progress will be presented to international professionals.

Finally, Latvian film journalist Elizabete Didža has been chosen as one of six emerging Central and Eastern European critics taking part in the 21st FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project, rounding off the Baltic republic’s presence across both the festival and its accompanying industry programme.