Modern cinema in Latvia: directors and their films

Viesturs Kairish

Viesturs Kairish made a name for himself primarily as an opera and theater director. However, already in the 2000’s he started trying himself out in the cinema. His filmography includes both documentaries and feature films.

For his first full length movie – “Leaving by the way” (2001) – Viesturs received an award for the best feature film at the national “Great Kristaps” film festival.

He also won the same prize at the end of February this year: it was awarded for the film “January” – a picture that has become successful and important not only for Latvian cinema, but also for presenting the history of the country globally. “January” highlights the topic of Latvia’s independence, identity and sovereignty.

These themes can be traced like a thread all throughout the director’s work. In his films, he addresses not just personal but also collective problems that are important for generations of Latvians. As a witness to the Soviet regime and a participant in the struggle for independence during the barricades of Riga, in his films Viesturs uses language that is understandable to every Latvian. The heroes of these stories are experiencing existential crisis while looking for answers to difficult moral questions.

The past of the country is always relevant to him. After all, one must not forget about the price at which the opportunity of freedom is obtained.

Inara Kolmane

For Inara Kolmane, the national context and the past of the country are also important in her creations. The most honest and authentic movies are made when the stories told are lived from the heart. That’s what Inara is trying to present through her art. Today in cinemas you can see her newest movie “Soviet Milk”, which film critics have already predicted to be the best Latvian film of 2023. A film about the hard fate of Latvian women during the years of Soviet occupation and the ability of choosing love, even if it seems that there is no place for it in life.

A similar problem can be seen in the director’s previous film, Bille (2018), where the main role was played by younger Ruta Kronberg (the audience can also see her in Soviet Milk). The film takes place in the complicated 1930s in Latvia. The main character Bille must put up with the lack of love, misunderstanding in the family and poverty. However, despite all the hardships of life, she finds her own way. These dreamy girl’s adventures are a true story from the childhood of the famous writer and poet Vizma Belshevitsa, whose autobiographical novel formed the basis of the film. At the “Great Kristaps” in 2018, “Bille” received the title of motion picture of the year.

Davis Simanis Jr.

Inara Kolmane wasn’t the only one to earn the praise of film critics in 2018: Davis Simanis received multiple prizes for the best film and best director for the emotional drama about the Holocaust – “The Mover”. The film was even selected as an entry from Latvia for an Oscar.

The director is famous further than his own country, with fictional as well as documentary films being recognized at international festivals: in Melbourne, Cairo, Amsterdam, Copenhagen.

With a PhD in art, Davis is not only a practitioner but also a theorist – he has taught film direction and film theory at the University of Helsinki and now shares his knowledge and trains a new generation of filmmakers in Riga.

Davis is interested in historical subjects. In cinema he concentrates on difficult episodes of the past. His stories mainly reflect the first half of the 20th century since it is important for the director to explore the mysticism throughout the era of expecting an approaching catastrophe. He talks about this period in a fascinating, surrealistic way in the film One Year Before the War (2021), where he shares his vision of Lenin, Trotsky and Freud. In his documentary Escaping Riga (2014), the viewer is presented images of Sergei Eisenstein and the philosopher Isaiah Berlin. Davis weaves his fantasies not only around historical events, but also around historical figures. Currently the director is working on a film “Maria’s Silence” about the fate of the German silent film actress Maria Leiko in Moscow in the 1930s – during the Stalinist repressions.

Aigars Grauba

Aigars is yet another Latvian director who helps unravel the mysteries of history. His filmography is full of epics and large-scale films, which is rarely seen among contemporary Latvian filmmakers. Graub’s directing career began in the 1990s. He expressed his attitude towards the Soviet period in Latvia in the film “Dangerous Summer” (2000). However, a full-scale historical drama about Latvia’s struggle for independence – “Defenders of Riga”, which attracted everyone’s attention to the director, came out a little later in 2007. The action of the war film takes place in 1919, when a group of brave Latvian soldiers was defending its recently announced status of a sovereign country against the much better equipped Bermontian forces.

Another significant work is The Pagan King (2018), a film that sends the viewer into a more ancient history, to the 13th century. In this film the Latvian director tells the legend of a young king who had to defend his empire against incoming crusaders in the territory of Latvia. Thanks to a non-trivial plot, exciting scenes and spectacular fights, he manages to make a blockbuster that competes even with Hollywood.

Signe Baumane

Signe Baumane is an adult animation author whose work strikes the hearts of viewers. Multiple awards in national and international level festivals works as  proof of that. Animated films of Baumane are full of metaphors and stunning surreal visuals. The latest work of the artist “My Love Affair with Marriage” (2022) took the prize in the main category at the Riga International Film Festival.

Signe’s animation can be called feminist, as it explores important issues that any woman has faced in one way or another: depression, abuse, violence. The heroes of her animated films are experiencing sexual problems or are in search of the meaning of life. Although there has been a stereotype in the world that animated films are aimed at children, Bauman’s art destroys this myth. Similar in style and themes raised can be called the American animation “My Year of Dicks” directed by Sarah Gunnarsdottir, nominated for an Oscar in 2023.

In addition to Signe, among the promising Latvian animators is Mara Linina. The filmography of this director is quite modest, but her animated work “Hush hush little bear” based on the most popular Latvian lullaby “Aijā, žūžu, lāča bērni” captivated the audience. It was important for Mary to refer to the cultural heritage of the country in this short film, to emphasize the importance of the Latvian language and to reveal its beauty. “Hush hush little bear” brings Latvian viewers back to their childhood, evoking happy and nostalgic memories.

Pauls Kesteris

And a few more words about short films. They are rarely rated highly by the mass audience. Often the short film is aimed exclusively at film festivals and a narrow audience of cinephiles. However, it is worth talking about the importance of this genre. If for nothing else, then because many modern and popular Latvian directors (including those mentioned above) began their creative path precisely in this genre.

Today, one of the top Latvian short film directors is Pauls Kesteris. At this year’s “Great Kristaps” in February, he received the prize for the best short film “First Steps”, where in only 15 minutes the heroes of the film – grown-up brother and sister – manage to live through important childhood memories. A short movie too can expose the vivid feelings of characters and cause a storm of emotions among the members of the audience.