Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) 11th edition was wrapped on 27 October. Besides the main programme – festival screenings and events held throughout the Latvian capital –, industry section RIGA IFF FORUM also featured a richly packed agenda. Over the three days from 24 to 26 October, it hosted many international and local film industry professionals, including filmmakers, sales agents, distributors, festival representatives, journalists, and others.

From year to year RIGA IFF carefully shapes its industry programme, emphasising young and upcoming filmmakers as well as established authors. It serves as a compact, welcoming and thoughtful meeting place where buyers and producers can discover new projects and daring personalities from the Baltics and the broader Eastern European region. In 2024 the invitation to a carefully curated list of audience members and experts once again demonstrated that this format is sustainable and appreciated, highlighting the steady expansion of the programme.

SHORT RIGA Test Screenings, the longest running and well known section of the RIGA IFF FORUM celebrated its 10th edition this year. Helmed by the curator Lenka Tyrpakova, whose previous experience include work at the Karlovy Vary International Film festival, the programme featured 12 short film projects from three Baltic countries and Portugal, this year’s guest country. 

The esteemed panel of experts awarded the main prize – post-production services worth 5 000 EUR from BBPostHouse to the Latvian short film project Where Does the Sun Sleep at Night? by Ildze Felsberga and producer Dārta Krāsone, who is also part of the production team of animation feature Flow by Gints Zilbalodis. Meanwhile the jury’s special mention went to Slush, a short film by Jēkabs Okonovs and Aivars Šaicāns, produced by emerging producer Elza Siliņa.

The third year of RIGA IFF SHOWCASE featured a pitching session of 16 projects (8 film and 8 series evaluated by an international jury), along with a programme of industry screenings and networking events. The main award for the pitching session – a cash prize of 5 000 EUR – was awarded to the Ukrainian feature film project Curtain, to be directed by the accomplished producer Valeria Socyvets, whose previous work, La Palisiada by Philip Sotnychenko, was selected as Ukraine’s candidate for the Oscars. Curtain is being developed and produced by Inna Lastochkina at Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema. 

Another prize, made possible through collaboration with NEM Zagreb, offered the opportunity to participate in the New Europe Market in Zagreb this December. The prize was awarded to the Lithuanian crime series project Cold, produced by Greta Akcijonaite and Aurimas Pukevicius, and directed by Domas Petronis.

Building on the success of last year, MEET THE FESTIVALS – a meeting space for festival representatives and filmmakers – returned for its second edition to provide a valuable platform for sharing insights and fostering connections within the film industry. This year, MEET THE FESTIVALS brought together 15 representatives from some of the largest European film festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Quinzaine des Cinéastes, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, and the Venice International Film Festival, among others.

This year’s industry lineup also included the third collaboration with the Baltic Women in Film mentorship programme. RIGA IFF welcomed 15 mentees from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, who began their mentorship journey by learning about the film industry and meeting its professionals in Riga. As part of the programme, the seasoned Ukrainian producer Natalia Libet from 2Brave Productions delivered a talk to a packed auditorium, sharing insights on overcoming challenges in the role of a producer.

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.