The 8th edition of the Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) opens today, on 14 October, with the Latvian premiere of The Rossellinis! With more than 100 films screening in 10 thematic sections, including several competitions, this year’s festival will not only take place at the Splendid Palace cinema, the “home” of RIGA IFF, and at the National Library of Latvia, but also in Madona, Valmiermuiža and online throughout Latvia. Tickets for all RIGA IFF screenings can be found on the festival’s website.

This year’s RIGA IFF slogan, “There is always time”, is a reflection of the festival creators’ own ideas and contemplations, as well as of the way that the format of cinema plays with time, a concept that simultaneously anchors reality and is its seemingly most undefinable feature.

“Time can be a reason and time can be a promise. Time can fly, and time can drag on. Time is infinite, but there is always too little time. This is the paradox intrinsic to the never-ending nature of time.

Time to go see a film. Time for a conversation. Time to wake up. Time to go. Time goes by. 

Time can be idle, and it can be filled. Cinema can pause time, slow it down, it can reveal and explain time, but never waste it,”

explains Liene Treimane, RIGA IFF Festival Director.

Over the festival’s 11 days, film lovers and professionals alike will be able to enjoy a wide programme of films and events – the FESTIVAL SELECTION, FOUND IN BERLINALE and NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS sections will feature acclaimed works from European and international festivals, new films by renowned directors, as well as powerful examples of auteur cinema. These films will have their Latvian premieres at the festival, and they include cult director Wes Anderson’s latest film The French Dispatch, the psychedelic musical Annette, which is French cinema legend Leos Carax’s return to the big screen, and The Worst Person in the World by director and festival darling Joachim Trier, who is well-known to local audiences, a film in which a young woman searches for her sense of self.

This year, the festival will feature five competitions. The films in the FEATURE FILM COMPETITION will compete for the festival’s main award and a cash prize, while works in both the national and international SHORT RIGA competition sections will compete for a prize and the chance to be nominated for the European Film Awards. The children’s jury for the KIDS’ REEL programme has a special duty – the film they select will screen on Latvian Television after the festival!

The Rossellini dynasty is not only featured in the opening screening – this year’s festival retrospective programme THE ROSSELLINIS AND THE CENTURY will offer audiences an opportunity to see this creative family through the various roles they have played on screen over the course of almost a century, combining avantgarde experiments with honest observations about the modern world.

RIGA IFF will also host FORUM, a large-scale industry programme where participants will be able to dive deeper into different aspects of cinema. Guests will have the opportunity to ask filmmakers questions, experience AR (augmented reality) works and gain insights into the film industry through various panel discussions.

The festival will also feature the national premieres of several works by Latvian auteurs – In the Mirror (Spogulī) is Laila Pakalniņa’s satirical take on Snow White set in a gym, the visually expressive Ring of Fire follows the creative process of the Kvadrifrons theatre company, and Baņuta, the first Latvian opera reborn on screen.

The conditions must be as safe as possible in order for our guests to be able to enjoy their cinema experience fully – all RIGA IFF live screenings and events will be held at the “green” security level, as outlined by the Cabinet of Ministers. “Green” events can only be attended with:
— an interoperable EU digital Covid-19 certificate (with QR code) that proves vaccination or recovery,
— a valid ID (passport or eID).
IDs and certificates will be verified at the entrance to the venues.

See you in the cinema!

The full festival programme, tickets, festival passes and more detailed information about events can be found on the festival’s website: rigaiff.lv.

RIGA IFF receives support from the State Culture Capital Foundation, Creative Europe MEDIA, the National Film Centre and Riga City Council.