{"id":44886,"date":"2026-03-19T17:29:49","type":"programme2026","title":"Short Film National Competition","subprogrammes_title":"","tagline":"One border, countless ways of redefining the cinema","content":null,"categories":null,"categories_slugs":"","tags":null,"overlay_image":{"ID":35124,"id":35124,"title":"RIGA IFF 2024 \u2013 Clean \u2013 SFNC_MAIN (2024-03-05)","filename":"RIGA-IFF-2024-\u2013-Clean-\u2013-SFNC_MAIN-2024-03-05.svg","filesize":8028,"url":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/RIGA-IFF-2024-\u2013-Clean-\u2013-SFNC_MAIN-2024-03-05.svg","link":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/RIGA-IFF-2024-\u2013-Clean-\u2013-SFNC_MAIN-2024-03-05.svg","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"","name":"aa418ef8669947239e0f1f69126ea7a6","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":35092,"date":"2024-03-05 07:18:47","modified":"2024-03-05 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20:22:47","modified":"2026-09-03 21:21:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-250x167.jpg","medium-width":250,"medium-height":167,"medium_large":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-1500x1000.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"large1200":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-1200x800.jpg","large1200-width":1200,"large1200-height":800,"large1800":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-1800x1200.jpg","large1800-width":1800,"large1800-height":1200,"small":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-120x80.jpg","small-width":120,"small-height":80,"uncompressed":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-scaled.jpg","uncompressed-width":2560,"uncompressed-height":1707,"custom-size":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Omamma_still_3-700x200.jpg","custom-size-width":700,"custom-size-height":200},"acf_attachment":false},"background_image_alternative":false,"copyright":"","custom_supporter_title":"","programme_content":"<p>Body and soul: the short national program displays this year a very interesting balance between movement, restlessness, self-reflection and personal musings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We start with two love letters to Riga and its urban energy and poetry: <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/rigas-linijas\"><i>Lines of Riga<\/i><\/a> intertwines three different characters&#8217; trajectories, attuning them delicately to the inner rhythm of the city, while <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/zlurga\"><i>Slush<\/i><\/a> is a jazzier, more percussive street ride. <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/uz-saulrietiem-skatoties\"><i>Gazing at Sunsets<\/i><\/a> is a moody trip for slackers, rendered in nostalgic old-school videogame aesthetics for an extra layer of escapism, beset by the eternal question \u201cshould I stay or should I go (from my small Latvian coastal town)?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Then, looking back on where you came from or what you ran from is a common thread in the rest of the films, all united by the theme of family. <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/zinotajs\"><i>The Informant<\/i><\/a> is a sequel to last year\u2019s <i>The Observer<\/i>, focusing this time on the director\u2019s father&#8217;s conflicts with the KGB in the seventies. <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/yolo\"><i>Yolo<\/i><\/a> is a multi-generational portrait about the ripple effects of the director&#8217;s mother&#8217;s demise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On a lighter side, <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/omamma\"><i>Portrait of a Granny<\/i><\/a> may be the definitive film for Latvian grandmothers. In the end, why not stay in the family for good or even better: going back to mum\u2019s womb in the surreal <a href=\"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/films-2026\/majas-adrese-dzemde\"><i>Home Address \u2013 Womb<\/i><\/a>? As George Bernard Shaw wrote, &#8220;if you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.&#8221;. Or film it with imagination.<\/p>\n","enabled":true,"competition_content":"<p>Showcasing the particularly dynamic nature of Latvia\u2019s short film scene and its distinctive forms of expression, we seek works that make one ask: what is cinema?<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s animation, audiovisual experiment, fiction, or documentary. The festival selects up to 10 films from Latvia that stand out for their bold auteur vision.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Entries<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The competition programme includes up to 10 short films from Latvia completed no earlier than 1 January 2025.<\/p>\n<p>There are no genre restrictions\u00a0 \u2013 documentary, fiction, animation, or hybrid works will be considered.<\/p>\n<p>Maximum running time: 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>This competition is open to works by audiovisual professionals and emerging filmmakers who are Latvian citizens, were born in Latvia, or have been long-term residents (for at least two years). The festival also considers films produced in Latvia, created with the involvement of Latvian directors, or works that position Latvia as one of the production countries.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b\u200bFilms produced or co-produced in the Russian Federation and Belarus will not be accepted.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Prize<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The selected short films are judged by an international jury consisting of industry experts, filmmakers, and representatives of international film festivals. It will present the winner with the Bronze Rooster award along with a monetary prize of EUR 1,000 from actor and talent casting agency Laik\/a Casting.<\/p>\n<p>The RIGA IFF award ceremony will take place on 24 October, the second Saturday of the festival.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Candidacy for the European Short Film \u2013 Prix Vimeo 2028 Award<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The jury selects a single candidate for the European Short Film \u2013 Prix Vimeo 2028 Award from the films selected for the RIGA IFF Short Film Competition.<\/p>\n<p>A film is eligible if its director was born in Europe or holds a passport from a European country (the European Film Academy defines Europe as including both EU and non-EU countries). The film must have been completed in 2026, and its running time must not exceed 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>European Film Academy award regulations can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europeanfilmawards.eu\/regulations\/european-short-film\/\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><b>Deadline<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Submissions for the open call are accepted from 24 March to 30 June 2026.<\/p>\n<p>No submission fee applies until 31 March 2026. From 1 April to 17 May, the submission fee is EUR 10 per entry; from 18 May, EUR 15.<\/p>\n<p>The results will be announced by 10 September 2026.<\/p>\n","custom_button_text":"","custom_button_url":"","submit_your_film":"filmfreeway.com\/rigaiff","submit_your_film_disabled":false,"terms_&_conditions_pdf":"http:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/RIGA-IFF-2026-Short-Film-National-Competition-Regulations-English.pdf","terms_&_conditions_pdf_disabled":false,"supporter":false,"supporter_for_children":null,"supporter_for_children_title":null,"jury_title":"Jury","jury":[{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAA-Creative_AureliaAasaOL-scaled-e1788469373555.jpg","name,_surname":"Aurelia Aasa","position":"","description":"<p>Aasa is one of the most visible new-generation animation producers in Europe. In 2020, she founded the AAA Creative film studio, currently one of the most respected studios in the Baltic region. Aasa works with strong, acclaimed animation talent, and the works she has produced include the award-winning short film Sierra (2022) by Sander Joon, which made the Academy Award shortlist, Miisufy (2023), a short by Liisi Gr\u00fcnberg, screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and Yummy (2024). by Martinus Klemet. Alongside this, Aasa writes about film, works as a cultural journalist and critic, and gives lectures on animation film production and marketing. Her vital, dynamic character has been noted and appreciated \u2013 in 2019, Aasa was named Estonia's film critic of the year.<\/p>\n","links":false},{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VF-Headshot-scaled.jpg","name,_surname":"Vincent F\u00f6rster","position":"","description":"<p>F\u00f6rster is an experienced curator and Programme Manager Short Films at Berlinale Generation. He studied international relations, Arabic and documentary film, and has lived in Scotland, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan, where he worked in cultural and educational institutions while also developing film projects. F\u00f6rster is a senior consultant for Short Films for Documentary Association of Europe and has served on the selection committees of Filmfest Dresden and Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. Based in Berlin, F\u00f6rster has made numerous short films as both director and screenwriter, as well as producer, including Some of These Days (2018), Dogma (2018) and other shorts that have been screened at various festivals.<\/p>\n","links":false},{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC_3710-scaled-e1788469333306.jpg","name,_surname":"Nina Rodr\u00edguez","position":"","description":"<p>Rodr\u00edguez is an international film festival curator and programmer with 20 years of experience. Born in Cologne, she studied presentation and preservation of the moving image in Amsterdam, but her career began in the music industry, only later turning to film selection and programming. She spent two decades as Head of Programming at the Guanajuato International Film Festival, one of Latin America's most important platforms for emerging filmmakers. She is Head of Programme Operations at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and also works with Qumra, an initiative of the Doha Film Institute, providing mentorship for international film projects. She has served as a juror and panellist at Tokyo, Mar del Plata, Sarajevo, Shanghai, Clermont-Ferrand amongst other festivals. In 2020, Rodr\u00edguez founded the independent cinema Compartimento Cinematogr\u00e1fico in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.<\/p>\n","links":false}],"participants_title":"","participants":false,"selection_committee_title":"Selection committee","selection_committee":[{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Portrait-Leo-TIFF.jpg","name,_surname":"L\u00e9o Soesanto","position":"Lead curator of RIGA IFF Short Film Competition","description":"<p>L\u00e9o Soesanto, the lead curator of RIGA IFF International and National Short Film Competitions, is a Paris-based film programmer and journalist who has written for publications such as Lib\u00e9ration, Les Inrockuptibles, Vogue Paris, Premiere, and Grazia. He has extensive festival experience having been part of the feature film selection committee for the Critics\u2019 Week sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival between 2009 and 2015. He also chaired the short film selection committee from 2017 to 2021. From 2016 to 2020, he was a film programmer at the Rotterdam Film Festival, which is a mecca for auteur cinema.<\/p>\n","links":false},{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Chantal-photo-scaled-e1681917851377.jpeg","name,_surname":"Chantal Lian","position":"Member of the selection committee","description":"<p>Chantal Lian has been working in the film industry for more than 15 years, as a programmer and curator at major French festivals such as the Les Arcs International Film Festival and the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es Film Festival for independent cinema where she also established the US in Progress Paris programme to promote cooperation between the European and North American film industries. Lian is an experienced film distributor with experience at respected companies such as Wild Bunch and Sophie Dulac Distribution, where she worked on commercially successful independent films such as Love & Friendship (2016) and Menashe (2017). She has also worked at Oxbelly, a training course for screenwriters and directors.<\/p>\n","links":false},{"image":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Nanako1.jpeg","name,_surname":"Nanako Tsukidate","position":"Member of the selection committee","description":"<p>Nanako Tsukidate is a film critic and a journalist for Nobody Magazine in Japan. She is also an independent programmer and consultant of Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori). She worked as a selector of short films for La Semaine de la Critique (2019\u20132021) and as programmer for the Hiroshima International Film Festival, in particular for the European films section (2015\u20132018). Tsukidate has been a part of the RIGA IFF Short film selection committee since 2022.<\/p>\n","links":false}],"screening_as_programme_child":false,"films_category_title":"In this screening","films_category":511,"films_category_2":false,"screening_select":false,"additional_films_title":"","show_films_seperately":null,"logo_on_image_text":"","logo_on_image_image":false,"logo_on_image_color":"default","tba":"","link":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/programme-2026\/short-film-competition\/short-film-national-competition\/","parent":44882,"parent_title":"Short Film Competition","parent_link":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/programme-2026\/short-film-competition\/","screenings_merged":[{"month":"october","date":"21","end_date":"","time":"18:30","time_end":"20:17","venue_url_languages":[{"type":"buy","sold_out":false,"closed":false,"free":false,"soon":false,"custom_button_text":"","invitation_only":false,"accreditations_only":false,"guest_accreditations_only":false,"guest_notice_with_icon":"","venue":"splz","custom_venue_text":"","url":"","bilesu_servisa_id":"509292","bilesu_servisa_id_2026":"UTRZCTE26R","custom_tickets_url":"","apply_url":"","subtitle_language":[{"value":"en","label":"English (en)"}],"closed_captions_language":[],"audio_description_language":[],"audio_language":[]}],"tags":[{"title":"With filmmakers","url":"","new_window":false,"show_in_grid":true}],"event_post_title":"Short Film National Competition","event_post_url":"https:\/\/rigaiff.lv\/en\/programme-2026\/short-film-competition\/short-film-national-competition\/","event_parent_details":[]}],"events_select":false,"enabled_after_content":true,"title_after_content":"","content_after_content":"","button_text_after_content":"","button_url_after_content":"","runtime":"107"}