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From 15 to 25 October, Latvia\u2019s largest celebration of cinema, the Riga International Film Festival, or RIGA IFF, will take place for the 13th time. Over 11 days, the festival programme, this year accompanied by the motto \u201cYOU ARE HERE\u201d, will invite audiences to discover unique stories, vivid emotions, and the highlights of contemporary cinema. Festival-goers can already get a first glimpse of the programme and plan their visit by purchasing specially priced ticket packs.<\/b><\/p>\n
Encouraging audiences to venture beyond the familiar, the extensive yet carefully curated programme of the Riga International Film Festival will once again serve as a reliable guide beyond the usual cinema experience. The call to be present is also reflected in this season\u2019s motto \u201cYOU ARE HERE\u201d, further explained by RIGA IFF director Liene Treimane:<\/p>\n
\n\u201c\u201dYOU ARE HERE\u201d is at once a coordinate, an affirmation and a welcome. Three simple words we encounter in airports, on transit maps, in museums and along hiking trails \u2013 words that help us orient ourselves and understand where we are. Within the context of RIGA IFF, however, they take on a broader meaning. They remind us of the most important point of departure: you are here. In this moment. In this life. In this place. Facing the cinema screen and surrounded by fellow audiences.<\/i><\/p>\n
To move forward, we first need to know where we are. Every cinematic journey begins with presence \u2013 with the willingness to set aside the noise of everyday life for a moment and fully surrender to someone else\u2019s story. At a time when our attention is constantly fragmented by countless competing demands, the opportunity to spend two hours sharing the same space and the same moment with a film and with other viewers becomes something truly special. Cinema does not change where we are. It changes the place from which we see the world.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The motto is further expressed through the visual identity created by Valters Kalsers and Agnese Bebre. Artists explain:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis year\u2019s visual identity revolves around a meditative point where our attention is calibrated in time and space. It is the point where a respite from the noise of everyday life, the cinema screen, and curiosity about the unknown meet. The RIGA IFF programme sections form the backbone of the identity \u2013 a grid designed for carrying content. They are not finished answers, but rather a framework to be built upon through individual festival experience. It is a new beginning \u2013 an invitation to bring content into the foreground, quiet what is unnecessary, and highlight what matters most.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n