It is quite possible that the film’s protagonist Laine would be uncomfortable reading this now… Due to her mother’s absence and father’s disinterest in his family, Laine is left to take care of her younger brother Budzis. As the weight of responsibilities shifts from parents to child, there are days when Laine does not feel like herself and she feels lost in a cloud of confusion about her identity. Meanwhile, accompanied by the droning sound of electronic music, her nights at raves and parties turn into an increasingly all-encompassing source of comfort. Laine’s new friend Gunda and her group of friends let her shrug off all responsibilities, and she is seduced by watching them slowly slip out of her hands.

A tightly wound, exhilarating youth drama by Matīss Kaža, one of the most prolific directors and producers of the new generation of Latvian cinema. The director’s second feature-length feature film covers a wide spectrum of topics – in its unflinching realism it is simultaneously a chronicle of Riga nightlife drawing parallels to East Berlin, a drama about cracks in the nuclear family structure, and twenty-somethings’ search for identity and navigating sexuality. Without moralising, Neon Spring is a vital, unrestrained, and sensitive piece of cinema, sensibilities that young actress Marija Luīze Meļķe also brings to her portrayal of Laine.