Latvijas Televizija

Alekss arrives at the Murjāņi sports school to become a champion. He’s introduced to the ironclad daily routine, which starts at 7 AM and ends at 8 PM, with practices twice a day and the rest of the time filled with lessons, exams and homework, just like at any other school. He has to wash his own clothes, make his own bed and clean his own room. The second hero of the film, Kristaps, has been living at Murjāņi for three years now. He takes part in the European Youth Olympic Festival, where everyone is strong but only a select few make it to the winners’ podium. Luck is not on Kristaps’ side in this case, and what he gets are only harsh reprimands and tears in his eyes. This slice of life at Murjāņi shows the difficult path to victory through sweat, tears and hard work.

From birth to death, from depression to creative fervor, from desire and passion to the northern ice... Seven fateful episodes that define the life of a painter. Seven contemporary artists share their views on a classic without whom Latvian art would be unimaginable. The documentary film "Rozentāls. Seven" was made in the year of his 150th anniversary. Janis Rozentāls is a pioneer and founder of national painting, a brilliant talent who continues to influence Latvian culture through the centuries, one of the most expressive figures in the Latvian cultural canon. Behind these lofty phrases lies a living person, an artist who fought for the right to paint in the way he considered important.

The beloved composer Eduards Rozenštrauhs was born on August 13, 1918, and a few months later, the state of Latvia was established. How did the author of the popular song "Zilais lakatiņš" live his life until his death on March 8, 1992? Historical evidence is sought in the stories of the composer's relatives — his daughter Skārleta, granddaughter Vineta, niece Vallija — as well as the memories of his colleagues from the Puppet Theater and the stories of musicians who performed Eduards Rozenštrauhs' songs together with the composer himself during the Awakening.

This documentary explores the historical and emotional significance of the Staburags cliff, combining personal memories, archival footage, photographs, and contemporary landscapes. Through people’s testimonies and visual material, viewers are invited to reflect on whether it is possible to reclaim what time and water have washed away. Once one of Latvia’s most popular sightseeing spots, Staburags has been widely celebrated in legends, folktales, and songs. Audiences will have the opportunity to see rare footage filmed 40 meters below the surface of the Daugava River, as well as follow a modern expedition during which special equipment was used to check whether the 18–20 meter-high Staburags cliff still remains in its place.

The most difficult moment in parents’ lives is when their children leave home. Valentina and her long-awaited and selflessly raised son Ruslan, live in a small Latvian town. Ruslan is now a teenager and a talented young pianist. The town they live in is too small for him to develop his talent, so he should head to Riga to continue his studies. Through this film we follow along the experience and the feelings of the mother who should let her son go - and leave her.

A fascinating story of true friendship, creativity and the passing of childhood.

Latvia is home to almost one fifth of the world’s population of the lesser spotted eagle, yet their number is endangered. Uģis Bergmanis is one of Latvia’s best-known ornithologists, and he does his best to save the eagles in Latvia. He also has another passion – he hunts wolves. He can sit for hours in freezing temperatures until meeting his prey eye to eye. There are many stories in this man. And some of them are going to be told.

“Mierjema” in Liv means “to be by the sea”. The film documents a very diverse population of Latvia that lives, works and spends time on the shores of the Baltic Sea. In the form of short, kaleidoscopic stories the film captures and reflects on people’s habits, needs and dreams. To what extent the importance of the sea is to meet our basic needs and - how important is it to our spirit?

A story of a Latvian family making tentative plans to return to Latvia. Ģirts, a doctor working in Denmark for nine years, receives an invitation to set up a professional practice back in Latvia – a welcome opportunity, as he would like to look after his parents better. But things aren't as simple as that, and his family is divided over the issue.

The film tells about an active senior, Mārtiņš Ziebergs (65), who is spending his old days and retirement looking for lost people; there are hundreds of them in Latvia. Following his activities, the film discloses both the everyday routine of the senior – life of “a detective” and process of investigation – as well as the outcome of it – unexpected reunions of the ones who have been searching for each other for years and also unmade reunions or cases never solved.

In this film a young man and his curmudgeonly grandfather are going 1,800 km to northern Russia in an old Zhiguli car, hoping to find the grave of their great-grandfather, who was deported. The grandfather Andris is sceptic over the lofty quest, initiated by his grand-son, as it’s not known what awaits them at their destination. Andris thinks they won’t find anything and will come back to Latvia without ever learning what happened to his father. However ever-optimistic Kārlis wants to use the journey not only to find answers about the past but also become closer to his grandfather who raised him. They both lost their parents as children.

"In the Skin of a Fox" follows the activities of animal rights campaigners in Latvia, their motivations and aspirations. Ten years ago, the sight of a fox trapped in a cage at an animal farm broke Katrīna Krīgere's heart. Since then, she has been fighting for a ban on the breeding of fur animals, leading the organization "Animal Freedom", infiltrating Latvian animal farms and holding protest actions. And despite various knock-backs over the years, the film follows her as her determination and perseverance appears finally to pay off.

Russian Federation, December 31, 1999. After President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes acting president of the country. From that day and for a year, Vitaly Mansky's camera documented Putin's rise to power. The story of a privileged witness. The harsh explanation of the reason why politics is the art of possibility of achieving the best with the support of many, but also of giving the worst in return.

The film tells the story of a series of events, coincidences and accidents caused by World War I, which allowed Latvians, like many other nations, to fulfill their dream of having their own country in 1918. However, the foundations of the Latvian state were laid in November 1917 in Valka, when the largest Latvian parties and social movements established the Latvian Provisional National Council. Why did Valka become the epicenter of events? What gave strength and inspiration to the men who began to build a free and united Latvia? And how heavy is the clay from which a country is made? The answers to these questions will be sought by storyteller and actor Gundars Āboliņš, together with historians and lawyers Jānis Plepu, Ēriks Jēkabsons, Ineta Lipša, and Jānis Tomaševskis.

A documentary about three Latvian female spies that have influenced events of international importance, – Marija Emma Šūle, Melita Norvuda, and Kristīne Čilvere.

Instead of Einars Pelšs' eighth poetry book, he publishes his collected works, but the buyer of the book receives an ordinary brick. He translates the authors of the Russian Golden Age and publishes them under his own name, challenging the boundaries of literature. Is a poet who makes fun of art unique or exactly what we expect from contemporary authors? Einarrative is an extraordinary story that portrays the narrative of the life of Einārs Pelšs. In the film, this narrative is an experience of contrasting changes both in its visual style and in Einars’ poetic works and personality, allowing him to get involved in the depiction of the narrative himself, making the film as Einārs Pelšs' audiovisual collected works.

A look into how it is to work in the Covid-19 area at a Latvian hospital. Created by a team of journalists of Latvian Television: Aija Kinca, Ivans Milovs, Dace Kokle, and Edmunds Rimšāns.

Lords of Riga allows to see an insight into a passionate subculture of bike couriers. Weaving their way through the urban traffic, they have become silent and sometimes unnoticed witnesses of everyday life in Riga as well as examples of our modern-day society. What is freedom to this bunch of rebellious messengers and where it ends?

“Hike '44" is a personal story by director Lauris Abele and cinematographer Marcis Abele about how to maintain humanity when the world falls apart. The protagonist of the film, Melita Abele (89), retraces her refugee path from 1944, when, at the age of 14, she had to leave her home at the beginning of winter. Asking strangers for shelter, spend nights in the woods until she found refuge and warm hearts. Through the use of animation, the viewer will be guided through Melita's memories on a journey through recent and present-day Latvia until a series of events brings Melita to what she has been trying to accomplish for 75 years.

The film tells the story of the Shendelev family, whose work is closely connected to the underwater world. For them, it is not just a job - it is a matter of the heart with a mission: to make the Baltic Sea, one of the most polluted environments in the world, cleaner and more alive. At the bottom of the sea lie not only sunken ships and planes, but also thousands of lost fishing nets - the so-called "ghost nets", which silently kill fish, seals, birds and other marine inhabitants. The family and their colleagues dive into the depths to find these nets and bring them to the surface. Their daughter Valentina follows in her parents' footsteps, but is still searching for her place in the world.