The tenth Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF), which will take place from 12 to 22 October, is announcing the RIGA IFF Short Film National Competition programme and jury. As the festival will be celebrating its first decade this year, ten short films have been selected for the competition. The screening on 18 October will bring together representatives of the Latvian film industry, filmmakers and audiences for cinema and conversation and features the national premieres of short films by both established and emerging directors.

This programme has the ambition to say a lot in a concise way, and to outline the landscape of Latvian cinema and its ability to move audiences through different forms — direct, poetic, live-action, and animation. Introducing the competition programme, RIGA IFF Short Film Programme Director, French curator and film critic Léo Soesanto says:

“Some say that cinema is a beautiful lie so it’s not surprising to find the theme of truth running through some of the shorts selected for the programme: how to find it, welcome, and embrace it in its complexity, and sometimes having to fight it.” 

Armands Začs’ short film Resistance is Futile tackles an emotionally strained and fragile friendship while offering a portrait of the millennial generation. Steeped in the atmosphere of the horror genre, the family living in the countryside in Upurjērs (Sacrificial Lamb) by Uģis Olte faces mysterious trials. Meanwhile, Ksenija (Ksenia), Renāte Saulīte’s intriguing documentary portrait, tells the story of a young woman confronting the justice system, revealing how society functions in the process.

The competition selection will also allow you to escape from, or tame the world: existential impulses are captured in beautiful, analogue form on 16mm film, creating magical and hypnotic works such as Stāsts par ūdens nozīmi (Importance of Hydration by Toms Šķēle and Jānis Ābele), Tanatofobija (Thanatophobia by Ieva Balode and Michael Higgins), and Silvas metode (The Silva Method by Mersedes Margoit). Meanwhile, Tīna Zariņa’s latest short film Limo is a thrilling journey into the future. Ilze Ance Kazaka’s animated short film Gruzis (Debris) conjures up an appealingly serene chaos, while Beigu beigas (In The End by Linda Stūre) celebrates the mysterious proximity of life and death. Finally, summing up all the emotional states of these short films, Ieva Norvele’s situation comedy Mirū iemīlas (Miru Falls in Love) takes us through the ups and downs of the life of a theatre assistant. Every year, the competition programme is like a dawn that shines its light on the diversity of local talent — they keep testing our dreams, hopes, fears, doubts, and the language of cinema itself.

The films in the Short Film National Competition are competing not only for an award and a prize at RIGA IFF, but also for nomination to be a candidate for the European Film Academy’s prestigious European Short Film Award 2024. These new short films will be judged by a highly professional, international jury — Ivana Kvesić, Director of the Fantoche International Animation Film Festival in Baden, Switzerland, Romanna Lobach, actress, artist, and producer who founded and runs the production company Akran, as well as Vladan Petković, Serbian film critic, curator and experienced festival consultant who regularly contributes to the publication Cineuropa. 

The premiere screening of the Short Film National Competition will take place on 18 October at 18:30 in the Large Hall of the Splendid Palace cinema. Tickets for this and other screenings in the festival programme can be purchased on the RIGA IFF website www.rigaiff.lv and at Biļešu serviss box offices.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary, RIGA IFF will present a selection of more than 100 internationally acclaimed feature and short films highlighting current cinema trends and key contemporary filmmakers. Created by a team of professional local and international curators, the programme will be screened over 11 days in several cinemas in Riga and a selection of the films will also be available online throughout Latvia. A programme of events for industry professionals and public events for the general public will also take place in parallel to the screenings.

RIGA IFF’s main partner is the media and technology company Tet. The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, the EU programme Creative Europe MEDIA, Riga City Council, and the National Film Centre.