RIGA IFF seeks innovative cinematic language and auteur expression being created within the Baltic Sea region. The RIGA IFF Feature Film Competition reflects transitions and recent trends in cinema; by establishing a specific geographical frame, these reflections become even more intriguing as the cinematic works made on various sides of the same sea represent distinctly different schools, traditions, languages and visions. The ten films that are ultimately selected exhibit present-day contemplation about the cinema of tomorrow.
Whether it’s animation, fiction, documentary, or experimental film, SHORT RIGA seeks auteur cinema and distinct expression in short format film. The festival's curators select 35 of the most interesting submissions from around the world.
The Baltic Music Video Competition, or BMV, endeavors to uphold the belief that music video is an independent and powerful short format. RIGA IFF curators look for videos that both challenge the audience and push the boundaries of accepted format, content, and artistry. The screening of this programme takes place on the last Friday of RIGA IFF and is designed as a special event in itself: a lively meeting between music video-makers, musicians and composers, curators, the international jury members, and the audience.
Feature Film Competition Jury:
Rainer Sarnet – Theatre and film director (Estonia), Barbora Ligasová – Representative of the Czech film centre (Czech Republic), Dorota Lech – Representative of the Toronto International Film Festival (Canada), Anna Möttölä – CEO of the Love and Anarchy Helsinki International Film Festival (Finland), Roberts Vinovskis – Film producer (Latvia)
SHORT RIGA International Competition Jury:
Per Fikse – Director of Minimalen Short Film Festival (Norway), Chintis Lundgren – Animator and artist (Estonia, Croatia), Jānis Putniņš – Director of the National Film School of the Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia), Ieva Viese-Vigula – Writer and film critic (Latvia), Enrico Vannucci – Short film advisor for the Venice and Quebec City Film Festivals (Italy)
SHORT RIGA Baltic Music Video Competition Jury:
Jessica Manstetten – Curator of the MuVi Prize competition programme and MuVi International programme at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen (Germany) , Juris Simanovičs – Musician, composer (Latvia), INA VARE – Audiovisual media artist, VJ (Latvia) , Inese Vēriņa-Lubiņa – Teacher of the Advertising Design programme at the Riga School of Design and Art (Latvia), Cai Trefor – Editor of the music webzine Gigwise (Great Britain), Kristine Kebbinau – Producer of music events (Estonia)
RIGA IFF Youth Jury:
Alberts Roze, Elza Marta Ruža, Pauls Rubens, and Anete Dance.
RIGA IFF Children’s Jury:
Arvena Lote Kravčenko, Jēkabs Blanks, Nils Klaverī, Krista Kušķe, Linda Saviča, Žanete Blanka, Ieva Bille, and Kate Štāla.
Feature Film Competition Jury:
Timo Malmi – Movie critic, Artistic Director of Midnight Sun Film Festival in Finnish Lapland (Finland); Bernd Buder – Film journalist and curator, Programme Director of the Film Festival Cottbus (Germany); Dovilė Butnoriūtė – Head of Department of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage at the Lithuanian Film Centre (Lithuania); Dāvis Sīmanis – Filmmaker, professor, and theorist; teaches directing and film theory at universities in Riga and Helsinki (Latvia); Lenka Tyrpáková – Representative of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Prague Short Film Festival (Czech Republic)
SHORT RIGA International Competition Jury:
Antra Gaile – Producer, has gained a profound experience in the production of creative and historical documentaries (Latvia); Christian Stark – Short film curator, lecturer, member of the Selection Committee of the Swiss Competition at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Switzerland); Dan Angelescu – Festival manager and associate curator of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival (Romania); Joanna Rytel – Artist, explorer of controversial topics – she has developed a complex artistry, which points out the most poignant issues of gender, power and identity (Sweden); Maija Kurševa – Artist, lecturer at the Art Academy of Latvia, founder of the gallery LOW – a place for spontaneous ideas and manifestations of alive artistic process (Latvia)
SHORT RIGA Baltic Music Video Competition Jury:
Kamil Horodecki – Head of Music Video at the International Film Festival Camerimage. Organizes screenings and oversees Music Videos: The Masterclass Series (Poland); Liisa Lahtmets – Programme and marketing manager of the Tallinn’s Kultuuriklubi Kelm. Works at Raadio 2 and is the City Stage programme manager at Tallinn Music Week (Estonia); Karolis Vyšniauskas – Music and culture journalist, co-founder of Music Video Competition at Vilnius Film Festival Kino Pavasaris (Lithuania); Uģis Olte – A journalist who has transformed into a self-taught film director, makes films and content for TV (Latvia), Nadja Sayej – Berlin-based Canadian journalist covering art, culture, music and celebrities; she is also a rapper named Snowe White (Germany)
RIGA IFF Children’s Jury:
Aleksis Avots, Alisone Mae Brīniņa, Sofija Derringa, Kristiāns Freibergs, Linda Ivanova, Orests Knite, Iļja Potapovs, Marians Zandersons, and Tomass Zandersons.
RIGA IFF Youth Jury:
Linda Elīna Austruma, Roberts Pavlovskis, Ieva Augstkalna, Rita Buša, Kristiāna Tabiņa, Kristians Fukss, Elza Elīza Bicāne, and Petra Alma Peta.
Feature Film Competition Jury:
Dita Rietuma – Film critic, film theorist and lecturer, Head of the National Film Centre of Latvia (Latvia); Øystein Egge – Film critic, film theorist, and programme curator (Norway); Kaarel Kuurmaa – Film and theatre journalist, festival programmer at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) and DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival (Estonia); Peter Shepotinnik – Film critic, programmer at the Moscow International Film Festival (Russia); Roberto Cueto – Professor of Audiovisual Communication at the Carlos III University in Madrid, a member of the Selection Committee at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spain).
SHORT RIGA International Competition Jury:
Liene Linde – Film director, film critic (Latvia); Aigars Ceplītis – Creative director of the Audiovisual Media Arts Department at RISEBA (Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration) (Latvia); Pela del Álamo – Director of Curtocircuíto International Short Film Festival (Spain); Andrea Wink – Co-founder and director of Exground Filmfest (Germany).
SHORT RIGA Baltic Student Competition Jury:
Renārs Vimba – Film director (Latvia); Charlotte Munck – Actress, teaching actors at various educational workshops (Denmark); Anna Purkrabkova – Representative of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic); Jing Haase – Representative of Nordisk Panorama – Nordic Short and Documentary Film Festival (Sweden); Marija Razgutė – Film producer, representative of the International Short Film Festival Vilnius Film Shorts (Lithuania).
SHORT RIGA Baltic Music Video Competition Jury:
Raitis Ābele – Filmmaker, musician (Latvia); Aiga Leitholde – Music manager and journalist (Latvia); Mārtiņš Grauds – Filmmaker and photographer (Latvia); Saulius Baradinskas – Independent filmmaker and music video director (Lithuania); Torunn Nyen – Film curator, representative of the Norwegian Short Film Festival and the Movies on War film festival (Norway)
RIGA IFF Children’s Jury:
Gregors Jānis Putniņš, Alise Samīte, Evelīna Zīle, Edvards Pavļuts, Viesturs Oliņš, Ume Zēberga, Madara Tivuma, Kārlis Jānis Krastiņš, and Katrīna Anna Krastiņa.
RIGA IFF Youth Jury:
Karlīna Marta Zvirbule, Luīze Lote Nežberte, Diāna Sutugina, Andrejs Poikāns, and Laura Tuča.
Feature Film Competition Jury:
Jānis Putniņš – Film director and cinephile, director of commercials at Film Angels Studio (Latvia); Mariëtte Rissenbeek – Managing Director of German Films Service + Marketing GmbH – the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films (Germany); Kirsi Tykkyläinen – Actress, former Managing Director of the Finnish Film Foundation (Finland); Zara Abdullaeva – Film historian and critic, long-standing collaborator of the main Russian film magazine Isskustvo kino (Film Art) (Russia); Santa Lingevičiūtė – Film critic, Artistic Director of the Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris (Lithuania).
SHORT RIGA Baltic Music Video Competition Jury:
Mārtiņš Ratniks – Artist, lecturer at the Department of Visual Communication of the Art Academy of Latvia (Latvia) – Marta Grigale, Artist, musician, media personality (Latvia), Armands Začs – Film director and film editor (Latvia).
SHORT RIGA Baltic Student Competition Jury:
Jukka-Pekka Laakso – Director of Tampere Film Festival – one of the most important European short film festivals (Finland); Niels Erik Tolne Fonseca – Film and television script editor and lecturer, assessor for the film funding bodies, as well as commissioning editor and development producer (Denmark); Wouter Jansen – Head of programming at the International Short Film Festival Go Short, founder of an indie distribution company Some Shorts (Netherlands).
SHORT RIGA International Competition Jury:
Laurence Boyce – Freelance journalist (specialising in cinema, books, music and culture in general), working as a cinema/festival programmer and in film PR (Great Britain, Estonia); Pēteris Krilovs – Film and stage director, professor at the Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia); Jukka-Pekka Laakso – Director of Tampere Film Festival – one of the most important European short film festivals (Finland).
RIGA IFF Youth Jury:
Patrīcija Keiša, Anete Ance Tomsone, and Kristofers Buks.
RIGA IFF Children’s Jury:
Matīss Jauja, Augusts Kārlis Kristlībs, Dāvids Asaris, Egija Fišere, Morics Menģelsons, and Arsēnijs Pahomovs.