Latvia’s presence at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival is set to reach record numbers this year. The A-list gathering, running in the Estonian capital from 8-24 November, will host a packed delegation of professionals from the neighbouring country, along with 14 features, three shorts and one mini-series screened across the different sections of the event. Additionally, several new projects will be showcased as part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the fest’s industry sidebar.

This diverse showcase reflects the vibrancy and growth of the country’s film industry, which continues to gain momentum despite having one of the lowest funding levels among regional film industries.

In the Official Selection, acclaimed Latvian helmer Juris Kursietis will present his third feature, titled The Exalted [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Juris Kursietis
scheda film], a Latvian-Estonian-Greek co-production. It follows a seemingly happy family in crisis as a renowned organist discovers that her husband is facing corruption charges. Produced by Alise Ģelze for White Picture, The Exalted features an international cast with actors from Latvia, Germany, Finland and Greece. The picture reflects Kursietis’s continued exploration of how social environments shape identities and relationships.

In the Baltic Film Competition, Gints Zilbalodis’s animated feature Flow [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gints Zilbalodis
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In addition, the same strand will host the minority co-production Drowning Dry [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laurynas Bareiša
scheda film] by Lithuania’s Laurynas Bareiša (Latvia/Lithuania), which won two major awards at Locarno. Remarkably, these films all share the same Latvian producer, Matīss Kaža.

Other noteworthy premieres in the Baltic Film Competition include In the Land That Sings, a historical epic by Māris Martinsons, exploring the origins of the Song Festival 150 years ago, and Black Velvet, a semi-autobiographical drama by Liene Linde, depicting the struggles of a thirty-something woman with life and creative ambitions.

The Latvian presence in this section is rounded off by two more titles. The first is Anna LOL, based on real diaries and helmed by Ivars Tontegode, which tackles the emotional aftermath of the suicide of a young woman’s best friend. The second is Latvia’s only documentary entry, The End, created by DoP Māris Maskalāns, offering a philosophical reflection on death. While its opening warns of disturbing imagery, the film uses nature’s cycles as a meditation on life and death.

In the Rebels with a Cause strand, Uģis Olte’s musical film Tesa Man stages an atmospheric outdoor concert by post-metal band Tesa, interwoven with symbolic imagery. Meanwhile, Signe Birkova’s debut feature, Lotus [+leggi anche:
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In the Youth and Children’s Film Festival, Marta Selecka and Andra Doršs’ Boom! zooms in on three teenage friends in an action-packed adventure, while Reinis Kalnaellis’ Thelma’s Perfect Birthday, an animated flick featuring a penguin’s journey, showcases Latvia’s strength in animation. Fantastical powers and an extraordinary flight of imagination take centre stage in the family flick The Book of Everything (Netherlands/Latvia), directed by Ineke Houtman and co-produced by Alise Ģelze, of Latvian studio White Picture, on board as a minority partner.

Next, Latvia’s contributions to PÖFF Shorts include Emīlija Karetņikova’s Confessions of My Childhood Body, addressing child grooming in youth camps, and two animated films staged by Atom Art: Zane Oborenko’s Kafka. In Love, and Edmunds Jansons’ Freeride in C.

Furthermore, this year’s Old Gold section features a restored version of Juris Podnieks’ 1986 classic doc Is It Easy to Be Young?, which was pivotal in the perestroika movement and remains one of the most significant works in Baltic cinema.

Finally, Latvia is actively involved in the inaugural TV Beats Screening Day at Industry@Tallinn with the anti-Kremlin series Mutiny, directed and produced by Andrejs Ēķis, premiering this year and backed by the European Regional Development Fund. The show depicts the story of Captain Valery Spagin and his attempted mutiny aboard a Soviet warship, based on true events that unfolded in 1975.

The Baltic Event Co-Production Market also features another Latvian entry: Elza Gauja’s The Last Meal, a collaborative project between Riga-based VFS Films and Slovenian partners. Moreover, a Latvian-Lithuanian co-production, Juris Poškus’ Call Me Calendar, will be taking part in the Baltic Event Works in Progress showcase. It is described as a tragicomedy about a bizarre character called Oskars and is based on Andris Kalnozols’ bestselling novel.