An audience favourite, the NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS section of the Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF, 17–27 October), this year includes 13 films from the Nordic countries – 13 chances to peek inside the worlds created by filmmakers from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. In both in-person screenings and online, RIGA IFF will screen the most distinct and acclaimed films from Cannes, Berlin, and other film festivals, as well as bold hidden gems from the cinema of the Nordic region. Tickets to NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS in-person screenings at cinemas Splendid Palace and Forum Cinemas, as well as online at online.rigaiff.lv, are available on the festival’s website (rigaiff.lv), and at Biļešu Serviss sales points.

As is tradition, NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS programme section, made possible by the collaboration with the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish embassies in Latvia, as well as the Swedish Institute, includes past year’s highlights of Nordic cinema. Reminding the audiences that the North is closer than it seems, the sumptuous 13-film panorama will thrill with its diversity and characteristic mood, as well as reveal the film language kindred to the Baltic way of life in terms of film pace, form, and, of course, humour.

On 18 October, the programme section will open with the Latvian premiere of the vintage-clad, snow-covered comedy of absurd The Missile, set in a remote part of Lapland. Mixing eccentric humour with the tension brought on by the Cold War and flamboyant 1980s disco trends in fashions and hairstyles, this dramedy also brings to the fore harsher aspects of reality – prejudice, women’s rights and agency. On 22 October, 13:30, Miia Tervo’s The Missile will also be screened at a seniors’ screening, with discounted tickets available to seniors (a valid pensioner’s card required at the door).

Among the most celebrated films of the section is the Cannes-awarded psychological chamber drama Armand, starring the Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve, as well as Crossing – a clash between the Georgian temperament and bustling streets of Istanbul in a heartwarming look at life and the ability to forgive. RIGA IFF will also screen the Berlinale sleeper hit Sex, an absurd-styled deconstruction of the attitudes towards sex in contemporary Norwegian society, and a film debut from the Icelandic director Helena Stefansdottir, Natatorium – an intriguing coming-of-age tale, where the typical genre elements intertwine with a mythical, almost hypnotic thriller about ancestral secrets.

The multi-faceted offerings will guarantee a perfect film for everyone – the section features the stirring period drama Stormskerry Maja and the dissection of grief over loss in the teenage story When the Light Breaks, and the comedy from the mischievous Swedish classic Lukas Moodysson, Together 99. Plenty of intense emotions will be found in the spine-tingling shining example of Nordic noir, Cold, and suspense dramas Sons and Hunters on a White Field – the films will expertly open the door to corners of the human psyche and reveal the darkest passions of society, as well as the desire for revenge and power.

Meanwhile a glimpse into the history and present-day lifestyle of our Nordic neighbours will be offered by the documentaries of the section. The series of archival images of the chilling contemporary collage Children of War and Peace will paint the portrait of the youth of the inter-war Finns. Whereas for those tired from the modern rat race, the quiet, Sundance-awarded documentary sensation A New Kind of Wilderness will reveal a beautiful and poignant story about a family opting out of the urban pace.

Tickets to NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS in-person screenings at cinemas Splendid Palace and Forum Cinemas, as well as online at online.rigaiff.lv, are available on the festival’s website (rigaiff.lv), and at Biļešu Serviss sales points.

From 17 to 27 October, RIGA IFF will delight the senses of filmgoers with more than 100 screenings of bold and fresh filmmaker visions, selected from the world’s most prestigious film festival programmes, as well as from the kindred Baltic Sea region cinema. This festival edition, the festival motto, Witnessing the World of Another, focuses on the art of cinema as a medium facilitating understanding and empathy – RIGA IFF team invites to discover new points of view and to witness the worlds coming alive on the silver screen. Follow festival updates on rigaiff.lv and festival social media accounts, as well as by subscribing to RIGA IFF newsletter.

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.