The traditional Latvian film marathon organized by the National Film Center on May 4 will return to the cinema after a two-year break “Splendid Palace“and will offer films also in the vicinity of Riga, but also maintaining the online section of the festival on the portal filmas.lv to the whole world.
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According to Kristīne Matīsa, a representative of the National Film Center, “Delfi” is expected to have several premieres, a tribute to the centenary Rolands Kalniņš, films about Ukraine, Latvian animation, and an open-air screening.
After a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, during which the May 4 Latvian Film Marathon moved online – on the portal of the National Cinema Center filmas.lv -, this year the marathon will return to the cinema “Splendid Palace”, free live screenings in both cinemas without restrictions. Invitations to cinema screenings will be available from April 27 at the box office of the Splendid Palace cinema or can be registered electronically on the cinema’s website; Details about impressions and sign-up will follow next week.
The program of the Latvian film marathon will start in the cinema this year with the honor of the director Rolands Kalniņš (1922) – the Latvian cinema classic turns 100 in May, and the old master promises to come to the screening of one “golden classic” film and several surprises – both musically and cinematically . The big hall of the cinema will also celebrate the premiere of two feature films on this day.
For the first time in Latvia, Laila Pakalniņa’s documentary “Home” will be shown, which has been screened at several important European festivals since last autumn, while director Ivars Zviedris has just completed the documentary “Bach vs. Covid”, which began filming two years ago in the first days of the pandemic. At the beginning of the day, the traditional Latvian animation film screening for children is also planned in the Great Hall.
In the Small Hall of the Cinema this year, the program is somehow connected with Ukraine and the ongoing war in this country – the documentary film “Mariupole” (2016), directed by Lithuanian Mantas Kvedaravičus (1976-2022), fell in the city in early April, but at the end – Ukrainian feature film “White Raven” (2022), an emotional heroic drama about the events of 2014 at the very beginning of the war in the Donetsk region. The Small Hall of the Cinema will also screen the documentary “Valiant! – Journey to Free Latvia” (2021) – an inspiring story about the resistance of Latvians in exile in the 1980s, tirelessly reminding the governments of the world that Latvia is occupied.
At the end of the evening, with the onset of darkness, a screening is planned at the open-air cinema “Splendid Garden” – the centennial animated film “Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs” (2019) with subtitles in Ukrainian.
On May 4, the National Cinema Center will also offer films for screenings in the vicinity of Riga – Mežaparks Grand Stage, Ilguciems and Imanta – but the festival program will be available all over the world on the portal filmas.lv
May 4, according to local time in each country. Detailed information about the May 4 Latvian film marathon program will follow in the last week of April.
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