The city in the frame: what movies were filmed in Riga?

Riga Film Studio

Riga, just as it was during the Soviet era, is still a beloved filming location for many directors. A strong force for the development of Latvian film production was given by the Riga Cinema Studio back in 1948. Thanks to this location, many streets of the city are well known to the Soviet viewer. The best-known places of the city, including the monument of freedom and central Brīvības street, have been captured on film. Both are visible In Aloiz Brench’s film – “Lielais Dzintars” (1971). In another work of art created by the master of action cinema, “Double Trap” (1985), one of the most intense moments is recorded on Kronvalda Boulevard, meanwhile, in “Mirage” (1983) you can see the Jūrmala highway and Dailes Theater.

In Aleksandrs Leimanis’s film “The Devil’s Servants” (1972) the action takes place not only with Old Town Riga and St. John’s Church in the background, but also within the territory of an important Latvian architectural monument – Rundāle Palace. Uldis Braun’s film “Motorcycle Summer” (1975) takes place in Riga entirely, so the viewer can see the characters driving along the streets of Aleksandrs Čaks and Marijas in the central part of the city. Also, the hero of the comedy “Vajadzīga Soliste” (1984) drives through Riga, admiring the Vanšu Bridge. The camera follows the gaze of the character, so the viewer also gets a similar feeling as if driving across river Daugava and a few minutes later, even standing at the foot of the hotel “Latvija”.

Favorite Soviet series

One of the most popular military dramas of Riga Film Studio was the 12-episode feature film “Seventeen moments of spring” by Tatjana Loznova. Walking around the filming locations has been one of the most popular tourist routes in Riga. Movie tourists arrive in the city to find Ziedu Street, which is called Jauniela in reality. The sophisticated hotel “Justus” is also located here. Having gained recognition through this work of art, the original historical brickwork has been preserved in its interior to this day. Another important place for the film about Stierlitz was known as one of Riga’s business cards “Cat House”. However, according to the plot, the building did not reproduce itself, but was instead presented as the Berlin Hotel “At the New Gate”, in front of which a meeting of standardfuher Stirlitz and Reichsleiter Bormann.

“Mosfilm”

Riga Film Studio is not the only studio that filmed in the streets of Riga. “Mosfilm” also actively involved Riga in its feature films during the Soviet years. Grigory Alexandrov’s film “Encounter at the Elbe“ (1949) tells the story of the last days of the Great Patriotic War. The picture includes shots taken against a background of the real ruins of Old Riga – in the film it is the ruined German town of Altenstadt. Doma Square and St. Peter’s Church can also be seen in this film.

The next Mosfilm film about the war period – “Shield and Sword” (1968) – was shot by Vladimir Basov. Among the recognizable places of Riga, the Gertrude Church can be seen here.

The scenery of Riga was also captured in Era Saveļjeva’s and Tatjana Berezantseva’s comedy “Old Fashioned Comedy” . The action of the film takes place in Riga and Jurmala, so a significant part of the screen time is occupied by the views of these cities.

Favorite Soviet TV series 2.0: Sherlock Holmes

Speaking of cinema locations in Riga, one cannot forget and leave out Igor Maslennikov’s “Sherlock Holmes”. A film that has even earned the praise of Elizabeth II. One of the world’s most recognizable streets – Baker Street – has now become the same Jauniela we mentioned above. On the wall of house number 22, visitors to Riga can see the commemorative plaque “221B” – the apartment number of the great detective and his trusted friend Watson.

The well-known story, which glorified the streets of their hometown, inspired Riga residents so much that on January 6, a holiday dedicated to Sherlock was celebrated for a long time . A mini-museum was even opened at the Pullman Hotel, displaying interior items and props from this beloved Soviet TV series.

Paris, Berlin, London? – No, it’s Riga!

During the years of filming career, Riga, like any self-respecting artist, managed to try on various characters. In the film “The Prisoner of Chateau d’If” (1988), which was based on the great novel by Aleksandrs Dimas, several streets of Riga are seen with the filmmakers’ favorite – Jauniela being highlighted in particular. These are presented to the audience as places in Paris.

In the contemporary film “The Red Chapel” (2004), Riga has even appeared to be the capital of France, with Mazā Pils iela selected to be the most “French-like”. Meanwhile, Zirgu Street, in this same film, represents a corner of another European city – Berlin.

Riga becomes Little London in the South Korean film “My Way” (2011). Scenes of a running competition were filmed on Smilšu Street, meanwhile, many local residents of the city participated here as extras.

Modern projects

Not only the Soviet period is rich in films shot in Riga. In recent years, many international filmmakers have discovered the city. In the American television series “The Courageous heart of Irene Sandler” (2009), action took place in Warsaw, but the filming was done in the streets of Riga. Another important event for Riga was the Bollywood action film “Agent Vinod” (2012). Many Bollywood films were shot in the capital of Latvia, as well as in Morocco, Russia, India, France. “Armor of God 3: Zodiac Mission” starring Jackie Chan. Meanwhile, the Austrian historical series “Sissi” (2021) has already been named by the media as the biggest film project in the modern history of Latvia.

The biggest online streaming platform, ” Netflix ” has also seen the potential of Riga’s beautiful streets. They have started filming the Polish film “Mr. Car and the Knights Templar”, which will be the first Netflix project in Latvia, meanwhile immediately announcing a new British project “Anna”, dedicated to the journalism of Anna Politkovskaya.

Why does everyone want to film in Riga?

In 2010, Latvia offered a unique co-financing project for international films, which attracted many foreign producers to the country. Latvia has become a pioneer in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions, offering filmmakers favorable conditions for filming in Latvian cities.

As Latvian director and producer Jānis Kalējs shared in an interview: Latvia has had programs that provide financial support for the filming of foreign films throughout the country for many years. One of them is a state property administered by the National Cinema Center, the other is the Riga Film Fund, which was established by the Riga City Council.

Unfortunately, in recent years, this flow of funding was forced to stop, but as practice shows, this does not prevent international filmmakers from shooting films in Riga and other Latvian cities.