From 17 to 27 October, inviting film lovers to become part of the biggest celebration of cinema in Latvia, the Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) announces the full festival lineup – the first and often the only chance to see these bold and current film adventures from Europe and the world on the big screen. Over the course of 11 days, RIGA IFF will delight the senses of filmgoers not only with dazzling new offerings from Hollywood and true gems awarded at prestigious film festivals, but also promising debuts of contemporary cinema, the newest works from acclaimed authors, and signature styles from renowned masters. From 17 September, tickets to all festival programme screenings, as well as ticket combos and festival pass are available on the festival’s website (rigaiff.lv), and at Biļešu Serviss sales points. Starting 14 October, tickets will also be available at the RIGA IFF information centre next to the festival’s main venue, cinema Splendid Palace.

In its 11th year, over 11 days and nights, RIGA IFF will offer a vast, meticulously selected, and multi-faceted film programme, featuring cinematic experiences for different tastes, ages, and filmgoing traditions in over 100 screenings at cinema Splendid Palace, Forum Cinemas, as well as the National Library of Latvia, and online throughout Latvia. This festival edition, the festival motto, Witnessing the World of Another, focuses on the art of cinema as a medium facilitating understanding and empathy. Festival Director Liene Treimane invites to discover new points of view and to witness the worlds coming alive on the silver screen:

The impact of the festival experience is proportional to how open the audiences are to it. We have created countless spaces of colourful cinematic adventures, all you have to do is open the door – to the favourites of Europe’s biggest festivals, carefully sourced hidden gems from all over the world, premieres of the latest films from Latvian filmmakers, a curated selection of music videos on the big screen, lively conversations and mutual celebrations with filmmakers, film experts, musicians, artists, and everyone who is ready to experience something new. Everyone is welcome to the RIGA IFF universe – from the youngest to the most seasoned spectators.

As is tradition, the festival programme section FESTIVAL SELECTION comprises the highlights of the past festival season and awarded films, the most famous Hollywood acting examples, and intriguing plays on form from acclaimed filmmakers-auteurs. Hot off the awards stage at the Venice Film Festival, on its way to Riga is the recipient of the prestigious Golden Lion prize, the latest melodrama from the brilliant Spanish directing grandmaster Almodóvar, The Room Next Door – a peak of visual storytelling, in which the colour codes and director’s signature over-the-top style is complimented by the stellar duo of Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. In the coming-of-age story from British social realism master Andrea Arnold, Bird, surrounded by an apt film score and magic realism, the screen will be lit up by actors Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan. On the heels of its world release, RIGA IFF will screen the biggest scandal in cinema as of late – hounded by court cases and unrelenting threats of censorship – The Apprentice, a portrait of Donald Trump in a film by Ali Abassi, starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong (Succession).

A triumphal return to the big screen from Demi Moore, Cannes sensation The Substance will reveal the dark side of the cult of artificial beauty in the form of a provocative body horror film. Meanwhile, the opening night film of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, The Second Act – a sparkling meta-comedy from the prolific French absurdist Quentin Dupieux, will star crème de la crème of French cinema – Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, and Vincent Lindon. Among the critically acclaimed films screened will also be such works as the Berlinale winner Dahomey, a nostalgic comedy by the cinematic daredevil Matthew Rankin, Universal Language, and an irreverent pastiche of fantasy and pop culture by Bruno Dumont, The Empire, and other chief cinematic triumphs.

Looking not only at cinema’s present, but also past, and unearthing the true treasures of the golden classics, the festival programme will also boast several highlights of a retrospective, unique in their style and presentation. The focus of festival selection IN KINO VERITAS will be the vivid clay and object animation films and merciless, satire-filled humour of the legendary director and master of the absurd, Jan Švankmajer. As part of the section devoted to German-language cinema, ZEITGEIST DEUTSCHLAND, on the first festival weekend RIGA IFF will offer a singular screening – a chance to be among the first in the world to witness the newly digitally restored Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas. Along with the quintessential road movie, the selection will also include a screening of four of the director’s shorts, which capture the young artist’s experiments with the moving image, sound, and colour on film.

Among the hidden gems of the RIGA IFF programme are also such extraordinary screen experiences as an insight into Nepalese cinema tradition in the self-discovery odyssey Shambhala, gusts of Greek new wave in the mesmerizing relationship drama Swimming Home, and an example of Austrian slow folk horror, The Devil’s Bath. Fans of genre films will be beckoned to the film theatres by several spine-tingling psychological thrillers, among them the story of the Danish serial killer, The Girl with the Needle, and the moving horror fairytale Handling the Undead. The programme will also feature period dramas From Hilda, With Love and Stormskerry Maja, and for the first time, an anime film – Ghost Cat Anzu. Also for the first time in the festival’s history, a screening of a 3D film – Twittering Soul by Lithuanian filmmakers, which, abandoning the usual two-dimensional frame, will reveal the mythical nature of Baltic folklore.

Captivating film journeys over both festival weekends await also the youngest filmgoers in the section KIDS’ REEL – celebrating the world premiere of three episodes, the characters of a musically educational adventure will invite the youngest audiences to the short animated series The Magic Wardrobe, but the national premiere will be celebrated by the Latvia-based studio White Picture co-production, the humorous family film The Book of Everything, suited for children from ages 7 and up. For the third year running, festival weekends will also feature the relaxed screenings of animation shorts, which are devised as both a great option for the first trip to the cinema for the youngest, and as an adventure for children with functional difficulties or disabilities of the autistic spectrum.

During the festival, the world premiere will be celebrated by three feature films from Latvia – Termini, the black-and-white homage to the final destinations of streetcars, directed by Laila Pakalniņa, the poetic music film by Uģis Olte, TESA MAN, and the new gothic on the (un)abating nature of death and ending by Māris Maskalāns, The End. European and world premieres of various scales will also be present in the section devoted to the best of the cinema of the Baltic region in HOME MADE PREMIERES, as well as in the screenings of Short Film Competitions – National and International – the contest and of which will be competing not only for the festival prizes, but also for the candidacy for the prestigious European Short Film 2025 Award. The screening of the Baltic Music Video Competition will invite the audiences to become part of the festivities of the fusion between music and moving image, uniting musicians, filmmakers, and filmgoers in one of the most unconventional screenings of the festival.

In the meantime, the festival will also host an events programme for film industry professionals, RIGA IFF FORUM, as well as a series of events for the general public. The programme of RIGA IFF 11th edition is vast and multi-faceted, to help get oriented in it, leading up to the festival, its main venues – cinema Splendid Palace and Forum Cinemas –, as well as venues elsewhere in Riga, will offer festival screening guides. The festival’s digital catalogue is available on the festival’s website, rigaiff.lv, it also features a special Festival Guide section, listing film selections by theme.

From 17 September, tickets to all festival programme screenings, as well as ticket combos and festival passes are available on the festival’s website (rigaiff.lv), and at Biļešu Serviss sales points. Starting 14 October, tickets will also be available at the RIGA IFF information centre by the festival’s main venue, cinema Splendid Palace.

RIGA IFF’s main partner is the media and technology company Tet. The festival is made possible with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation, EU programme “Creative Europe – MEDIA”, Riga City Council, and the National Film Centre of Latvia.