The Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) is opening submissions for features, shorts, and music videos to its six competition sections. All submissions will be free of charge for one month, until 17 April. The festival will take place this autumn from 14 to 24 October.

The festival’s main award

The RIGA IFF Feature Film Competition is the festival’s central event. This year, it will once again bring together current, artistically outstanding films from the Baltic Sea region and the Nordic countries that expand the language of cinema. A jury of international film professionals will award the winner of this competition with the RIGA IFF “Rooster”, a bronze statuette in eight parts as well as a cash prize.

A wider film programme for the youngest audience members

The popular KIDS WEEKEND section has now become KIDS’ REEL. It has not only outgrown its weekend slot, but now also incorporates two international competitions. The films selected for the feature and the short competition will be judged by members of the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA), and the winners will be nominated for ECFA awards. The nomination gives these films the chance to win the award for best European short or feature film.

SHORT RIGA – creative short films from around the world

The eighth RIGA IFF continues to look for brilliant and creative short films for the SHORT RIGA International, National and Baltic Music Video competitions.

Films selected for the SHORT RIGA International and National competitions will also compete to receive a nomination for a European award. This section of the festival is looking for short films in different genres from all over the world that will not only compete for the RIGA IFF “Silver Grass Snake” award and a cash prize, but also for a nomination for the European Film Academy’s (EFA) European Short Film 2021 award.

The BALTIC MUSIC VIDEO Competition (BMV) section is unique in the region and continues to prove that music videos are an independent, exciting and creative format in their own right. The section will feature works that broaden the understanding of the language and possibilities of music videos. The competition screening will be attended by filmmakers, an international jury and audience members who will weigh in on the winner of the third RIGA IFF “Silver Grass Snake” award.

Further information about submission regulations and deadlines can be found on enter.rigaiff.lv

The Riga International Film Festival will take place for the eighth time in 2021. Over the years, it has become one of the most important international film events in Latvia and the Baltic region, with broad, high-quality programming intended for both audiences and film professionals.

RIGA IFF is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, the National Film Centre of Latvia and the Riga City Council.