The opening of the RIGA IFF’s film section NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS will take place on October 18. It will be marked with a screening of ‘Dogs Don’t Wear Pants’ by J-P Valkeapää – a daring story on how a man seeks to cope with the death of his wife through exploring the limits of his pain and endurance in BDSM sessions.

The film was shot in Latvia – with members of the Riga BDSM community as background actors – and had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

“The Finnish cinema – so close to us in regard to its emotional temperature – continues to surprise. Inspired by the films of Kaurismäki and Bergman, J-P Valkeapää, one of Finland’s most interesting directors of auteur cinema, has created a bold, extravagant and very personal story about the acceptance of loss. It portrays the life of contemporary society hidden from daylight and the eyes of strangers, where pleasure can’t be separated from pain,” explains Sonora Broka, the Programme Director of RIGA IFF.

‘Dogs Don’t Wear Pants’ was produced by Finland’s ‘Helsinki-filmi’, and was co-produced by the Latvian production company ‘Tasse Film’. The co-production was supported by the Latvian National Film Centre and Riga Film Fund.