New Film Festivals in Riga

After the legendary Arsenals International Film Festival had to call it quits in 2012, Riga's film scene is living through a change. Arsenal's shutdown due to funding problems also affected the International Children's Film Festival "Berimors", the Riga International Fantasy Film Festival and the Nordic Film Days.

Now two new ambitious film festivals are aiming to fill the void Arsenal's closing left and enrich Riga's festival calender.

FF Riga was initiated as an homage to Arsenals shortly after its closing. The name stands for both 'Festivals for Riga', and 'Films for Riga'. The first edition of FF Riga showcased screenings from like-minded festivals like Warsaw Film Festival and Helsinki's Love and Anarchy.

Like FF Riga, the Freedom Film Festival was just founded in 2012 with aspirations to host an annual festival dedicated to local and international films with a focus on personal and political freedom.

In contrast to the previously mentioned events, the Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS is a veteran in showcasing contemporary cinema. In October, film makers, cinephiles and artists come together to explore the newest visual trends and innovative approaches in Baltic and European short film production. 2ANNAS features local and international competion programmes, as well as retrospectives and guest programmes of all genres.