Jānis Vimba

In 1873, brave men known as the New Latvians held the first-ever Latvian song festival under the watchful eye of oppressive censorship. This massive celebration, featuring 1,003 singers – both men and women – changed the course of the nation’s history. It stands as a unique example of non-violent resistance in the fight for freedom against imperialism, led by Latvia’s entrepreneurs, writers, publicists and ordinary villagers.

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A police officer and his family arrive at their countryside home in a grim mood and unexpectedly meet Santa Claus. The children drag Santa into their scheme to save the family, while their parents start preparing for the celebration, unaware that the friendly Santa is in fact an escaped prisoner.

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A drama about the national resistance movement in Latvia after the Soviet occupation. Events take place in 1949 when the British intelligence service MI6 tries to find out about the situation in the Baltic States occupied by the Soviet Union. Wittold (Jekabs Reinis), together with other Latvians, works hard in his daily work, and Velta (Agnese Cirule) is a nurse. They dream of going to the United States, saving money, planning a wedding and arranging the necessary documents because the US carefully selects emigrants. But Wittold decides to take part in the Mission, and the hope of changing history changes his life.

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A young director, who sits in front of a commission defending a film based on her own experiences with sex and relationships, is continually confronted with questions about why she’s making the movie. The answer doesn’t come easy… Linde took on a difficult task for her short film.

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A small town teenage girl Meldra, aspiring to be a writer, heads to Riga in hope to find Rihards, a famous poet, with whom she has fallen in love. She gets carried away by the turbulent life of the capital. While breaking all of her suburban standards, she loses many of her illusions and becomes courageous enough to make her own decisions.

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After his wife kicks him out of the house, an elderly, anti-social and quite conservative man Arvīds decides to reconnect with his grandson by staying with the boy and his mother. Not keen on their lifestyle, the old man tries hard to accept all the eccentricities of the young and liberal. Fortunately for him, a warm-hearted friend of Arvīds’ ex-daughter-in-law is always around to help and he seems to be a natural when it comes to children and other stubborn people. When Arvīds finds out that the young man is gay, he decides he has had enough. Often, life is not that much about finding your place, as about learning how to share that place with others. This short film is a light and playful experience, looking into the definition of “normal” that varies so strongly from generation to generation.

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Geneva, Switzerland 1935. The first European Basketball Championship is about to take place. Basketball is still an unknown sport in Europe, and the national teams are meeting for the first time. Each wants the honour of being the first champion. Meanwhile in Latvia, coach Baumanis is convinced that he can assemble a team and take it to Geneva. He quickly learns however, that triumph and defeat are also part of the game. Coach Baumanis faces many difficulties, as well as unexpected help from those closest to him.

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In the Gulf of Finland shipwreck hunters come across the remains of a sunken ship. Having examined the images obtained by an underwater robot, researchers come to a conclusion that the wreck remains are that of “Krišjānis Valdemārs” – independent Latvia´s first icebreaker. The story of an icebreaker allows viewers to the look at the history of Latvia between wars from a new angle and provides insights into the little known, but fascinating episodes of a maritime history.

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