KIDS
WEEKEND
GREAT CINEMA FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Latvia is a small country. And this is just the fourth year that a festival of such international significance takes place in Riga. We need new and young people to fall in love with the beautiful world of cinema! This is an honest answer as to why it is so important to have a whole weekend dedicated to films for the whole family, why it is important to provide additional captivating pastimes as well… Two fascinating days of a cinematic adventure for schoolchildren, pre-school kids and their kin.
A film about everything changing while remaining the same.
As puberty approaches, they recognize the differences between body and mind.
The fading beauty of past that is still alive this day.
An immense dissappointment. Instead of a puppy for her birthday she got a father…
The doorbell rings. Penelope cleans her apartment in a hurry.
The vast Finnish archipelago consists of thousands of rocky islands. It’s a place where time passes differently, the mind has space to wander and even the smallest everyday things can be a source of endless fascination. Here we see five archipelago dwellers with lives so different, it makes one think that perhaps every man is indeed an island. They are all part of the archipelago’s landscape. But look beyond the surface and you’ll see that all islands are in fact parts of the same terrain. A poetic essay on life, death, and the taste of early potatoes.
It was the spring of 2013 when the old friend of the filmmaker Anne Regitze Wivel fell down his stairs and got a severe injury. This man is Per Kirkeby – the world-renowned Danish painter, poet, essayist, sculptor, graphic artist, and filmmaker. Not only has he lost his physical mobility, but also his ability to recognize colours, faces and even his own artwork. He struggles to return to his work while at the same time acknowledging his lack of progress. A story about the artist’s universe – marked by deep melancholy as well as astounding beauty; a story about a personal struggle, illusions and the meaning of life.
Finnish writer-director continues his trilogy on refugees, which started with the award-winning tragicomedy Le Havre (2011). It is dedicated to film historian Peter von Bagh, the director of the Midnight Sun Film Festival, which the Kaurismäki brothers founded in 1986. When the authorities decline his claim for refugee status and make a decision to return the Syrian Khaled (Sherwan Haji) to the ruins of Aleppo, he decides to stay illegally in the country and disappears into the streets of Helsinki. There he meets, besides various types of racism, also pure kindness. A Finn Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen) finds him in the inner yard of his restaurant. For a moment life shows its sunnier side, but fate soon intervenes…
This is somebody, nobody, anyone. This is us in the course of time…
Unconscious sexual desires are most closely linked with fear… Painter Alberts has chosen the beautiful Vita as a model for his portrait of Virgin Mary. After the first sittings for the artist, the young woman starts seeing strange dreams where she is chased by a horrifying spider. Unconscious sexual desires create a sense of fear and helplessness until the light of true love dispel the mystic webs. The first and for the time being only erotic horror film in the film history of Latvia based on a story by Vladimirs Kaijaks. This is the only film directed by professional production designer Vasili Mass (Limousine in the Colour of Midsummer’s Eve, 1981 / A Photo of a Woman and Wild Boar, 1987 / Days of Man, 1989) and the screen debut of actress Aurēlija Anužīte (The Mystery of the Old Parish House, 2000).
Oleg Sentsov is a Ukrainian filmmaker, Euromaidan activist and native of Crimea. After the Russian annexation of Crimea, he became an active opponent of the occupation. In May 2014 he was arrested by the Russian security service, charged with planned terrorist attacks and transported to Moscow. After over a year in custody, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, despite the fact that the testimonies were given under duress and evidence was insufficient. Sentsov never pled guilty. Director Askold Kurov follows the progress of the trial and the attempts of Oleg’s family, friends and lawyers to save him from prison. The notorious case inspired protests around the world: the European Film Academy and many renowned filmmakers such as Pedro Almodovar, Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, Ken Loach, Johnny Depp and others called for Oleg’s release. Kurov’s investigation gradually reveals an absurd and frightening Kafkaesque story about how anyone can become a victim of a ruthless state machine.
Oleg Karavaichuk, eccentric musical genius and famous composer, takes his final stroll through Komarovo, a bay-side summer community just outside St. Petersburg where he spent his whole life and wrote most of his works. His final piece, “The Komarovo Waltz”, unveiled here for the very first time, was written as a tribute to the place. The film is the reclusive composer’s farewell to audience as well as his last address and reminder of things that are truly important – love for your fellow man and virgin nature.
A mutual friendship is weaved when a small spider finds inspiration in a woman’s knitting patterns.
