Anša Epnera studija AVE

Edmunds Berzs is an architect who has achieved a comfortable life, but this causes him unease, so he decides to go to the country house where his mother lives. There he wakes up to find himself locked in a cage in the middle of the forest. Edmunds, paradoxically, finds the tranquility he was looking for.

It's Latvia on the 20th of September, 2003 - the day of the referendum about joining the European Union. On the day of the referendum, twelve Latvian film directors of different generations portray twelve different characters across the country. Their life stories and environments affect their decision of voting “for” or “against”.

People escaping from home. Escaping to a better life. Escaping from themselves to a globalized world. Over the last years, tens of thousands of Latvians have left Latvia in search of a better life in Ireland. This film reveals the way some of them live, far abroad from home and their families: their desires, emotions, life conditions and relationships.

In the godforsaken land on both sides of the Latvian-Estonian border people are awaiting "the coming of Europe" in candlelight with no electricity. This film paints the difference between urban consciousness and simpler rural values.

An omnibus film consisting of ten parts, each directed by a different young director from the Latvian Academy of Culture. The unifying element of the ten shorts is the place where they take place - the airport. A lot can happen there - including a strike by a comet, a malicious attempt to break havoc by passengers, or an exploration of the old airport guard's house where not a lot has changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film consists of the following parts: A Mishap (Nediena) by Arta Biseniece, Blurp (Šļurp) by Aija Bley, Alien Sky (Svešās debesis) by Viesturs Kairišs, 5 Versions (5 versijas) by Dzintars Krūmiņš, Comet (Komēta) by Māra Liniņa, Cleptomania (Kleptomānija) by Andis Mizišs, Alfredo's Poetry (Alfredo dzeja) by Igors Varenieks, Little Hand (Mazā roka) by Ilze Vidauska, Comet 2 (Komēta 2) by Anna Viduleja, and Life No. 2 (Dzīve nr.2) by Kristīne Želve.

The film is a mirror image of the choir Kamēr... (While...), which the viewer sees through the white dresses of the girls in the choir, through the beads of sweat on the conductor's nose, through close-ups of the choir members at moments when the musical ecstasy reaches its climax.

Each one of us is like a comet - a piece of something big and beautiful, like a ball in motion! But in the life of a comet there are two great dares - the dare to separate from the rest of the mass and the dare to venture into the unknown. It is only through movement and ignorance that the comet is free.

A group of children from the capital city of Riga arrive in the small border village of Ipiķi. The townsfolk immediately know that "they aren’t locals, they’re from the capital. You can tell by the way they dress.” The differences between the city and rural children are quite evident. While the country children nimbly climb trees, play games with knives and axes, and hide in their self-made tree house, the city children buy sweets in the town store, hoping to buy the goodwill of the local children. However, gaining entry into the tree house is not so simple.

A novella about Riga, composed of songs from the rooftops of Riga, sung by the girls of the Riga Dome School choir, recited by Riga residents, chance encounters with foreigners, cyclists and pedestrians, tram drivers and lovers.

A journey through time and space, accompanied by a 17th century guide, presenting a colorful array of unique material – the symbols of Riga, historical buildings, city administration issues – creating a detailed overview of Riga's history through the centuries. The film is a gift – a video book for the city's 800th anniversary celebrations, and it is an appendix to the joint work of the Riga History and Navigation Museum and SIA "Rīgas nami" – the book "Riga Administration in Eight Centuries."

The Latvian Song festival captured from an unusual angle - literally and figuratively. Faces and legs of singers, listeners and dancers, close-ups of details and moods. In the final four minutes of the film, the 294 place names - cities, parishes and villages of Latvia and the world - are called, that the participants of the XXIII Latvian Song Festival come from - "...Cīrava, Code, Chicago, Dagda... Mālpils, Malta, Mārupe, Moscow... Sēlpils, Sesava, Sydney, Sigulda... Palsmane, Pampāli, Paris, Pāvilosta..."

It’s discovered by chance that legendary Finnish film director Teuvo Tulio came from a remote village in Latvia near the Russian border. During his childhood he was known by the Russian nickname, Fedya. The local authorities immediately place a memorial stone in his honour, but the local peasants are confused and even angry about the unwanted publicity and guests. They have neither heard of Teuvo Tulio, nor seen his films...

The first of Ansis Epners’s films capturing his travels to different continents, including his climb to a 5000 m base camp of Everest and his visit to the Chitwan National Park on the Nepal-India border.

Latvians think through mud and view the world through a “muddy” filter. Where does the mud come from, and why does it invariably remain: in this country, this language, and in our souls? Mud doesn’t just appear from tears falling upon dry earth. Mud also comes from spillover, done out of joy. And the mud itself creates happiness and inspiration for new mud.

Inta is a brusque, crusty woman who lives alone on the edge of a picturesque marsh. One day her solitude is intruded upon by the arrival of a documentary filmmaker. In his eyes Inta is an outstanding would-be film protagonist but the wild woman would rather put a curse on the importunate intruder than let herself be filmed. But the filmmaker's persistence finally succeeds in melting the ice of Inta's heart... just in order to break it soon afterwards.

Smiles belong only to humans. Perhaps some animals can smile, but I'm not sure about that. A smile is a sign of a warm heart, said the Dalai Lama when he met with Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga. Unique, rare footage from the president's press service video archive. A smiling president and an emotional conversation about eight years of presidency in Latvia.

A young boy likes to play anywhere and anytime, with anything that is handy. A poetess plays with words, a composer with sound, and a filmmaker with images, the result of which is a cinematic poem that motivates the viewer to remember his Homo Ludens.

"Klaidonis" has spent almost 15 years in Paris before returning home to Latvia. "Klaidonis" – that's the name of the barge, whose former owner is the Latvian Džeimss Krogzemis. The film is a mosaic of Krogzemis' life and feelings - impressions of Paris, the Seine embankment, Latvia, Riga, and French music...

Latvians have always fought under foreign flags, but have always wanted to return to their homeland.

Sigurds operates a hundred-year-old lift in a large hospital in Riga, absorbing the sounds of daily hospital life while between floors. Meanwhile, in the adjacent shaft, a new, automatic lift is being installed.