The second Baltic Film Days and co-production workshop in Paris

On Thursday, February 5, the second Baltic Film Days "CinéBaltique" starts in Paris, within the framework of which the latest films from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be shown. In parallel, a French-Baltic co-production workshop organized by the French National Film Centre (CNC) is also taking place in Paris, and from January to March the Pompidou Centre hosts an ambitious programme of Baltic poetic cinema. Thus, at the moment, in the French capital Paris, there is a very powerful presence of Baltic cinema – from historical heritage to future projects.

In cooperation with the embassies of the Baltic States in France and the national film institutions of all three countries, a new festival CinéBaltique , Baltic Film Days, was  established in the French capital a year ago, which takes place at the cinema L'Arlequin at the beginning of February. The first festival has been recognized as a great success, and CinéBaltique continues to offer the Parisian audience the opportunity to discover a bold and innovative selection of films that confirm the vitality and originality of the Baltic film industry.

A total of 25 films has been selected for the programme in nine screenings, including six feature films, two from each country. In the feature-length film programme, Latvia is represented by director Alise Zariņa's latest feature film Flesh, Blood, even a Heart / Nospiedumi (2025) and now world-famous director Gints Zilbalodis first feature-length animated film Away / Projām (2019), which once received the main prize in the Contrechamp competition of the Annecy Animation Festival (France).

In the short film format, 16 films will be screened in three programmes this year, Latvia is represented by five short films, mostly made as student works. The program includes film Kur saulīte nakti guļ? / Where Does the Sun Sleep at Night? (2025) by Ildze Felsberga, animated short film Tīrība / Cleanliness (2025) by Andrejs Brīvulis, another animation - Klīstošais punktiņš un tukšās kvadrātveida lapas visums / Wandering Dot and the Blank Square Page Universe (2024) by Ieva Lība Ratniece. The program also includes the short films Spirāles centrs / Centre of the Spiral (2025) by Dāvis Gauja and Lai tev veicas / Goodspeed (2025) by Klāvs Liepiņš.

After the film screenings, the authors' meetings with the audience are planned, the director of the film Flesh, Blood, even a Heart by Alise Zariņa, short film directors Ildze Felsberga, Andrejs Brīvulis and Klāvs Liepiņš will participate in Q&A. The CinéBaltique festival is organized by the National Film Centre, the Estonian Film Institute, the Lithuanian Film Centre and the embassies of the Baltic States in France.

Along with the CinéBaltique, which is scheduled for February 8, on the initiative of the French National Film Center (Centre National du Cinéma) in cooperation with the film institutions of the Baltic States, a Baltic-French co-production workshop  is also taking place in Paris on February 5 and 6 – an intensive two-day event that will promote opportunities for cooperation between Baltic and French film professionals, will provide an opportunity for Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian film studios establish contacts with the best French film producers, conclude co-production agreements and pave the way for a system of financial support for the French film industry. The programme of events includes presentations by the heads of all three Baltic film institutions on their country's film industry and an outline of the experience of some already realized Baltic and French co-productions – producer Matīss Kaža, producer of Flow / Straume, together with French partner Ron Dyens from Sacrebleu Production, will also offer his story.

Nine feature film projects with high artistic and cultural value have been selected for participation in the co-production workshop, and Latvia is represented in this selection by three film projects. Director Dāvis Sīmanis has already received the support of the National Film Center for the feature film project Spīgana / She-Devil, a revenge thriller with a strong female character in the center (studio Mistrus Media, producer Gints Grūbe). Directors, brothers Lauris and Raitis Ābele in the project Vāgners un Sātans / Wagner and Satan create an atmosphere saturated with mysticism and adventurism in early 19th-century Riga, while producer Vilnis Kalnaellis in his studio Rija Films develops the full-length animated feature film Izsalkusī iela / Hungry Street by the young director Velta Emilia Platupe. Directors and producers of all projects go to Paris to meet professionals of the French film industry in person.

Kā jau iepriekš ziņots, no 7. janvāra līdz 15. martam Pompidū kultūras centrā Francijas galvaspilsētā Parīzē tiek demonstrēta plaša Latvijas, Lietuvas un Igaunijas poētiskā dokumentālā kino retrospektīva – kopumā 52 filmas, kas uzņemtas 20. gadsimta otrajā pusē. Programmu atklāja Jura Podnieka starptautiski pazīstamākais darbs Vai viegli būt jaunam? (1986), Latviju programmā pārstāv arī sešu citu režisoru darbi, atsevišķā seansu blokā izceltas Lailas Pakalniņas jaunākās filmas. (Kamēr Pompidū centrā notiek vērienīgi remontdarbi, filmas demonstrē art-house kinoteātrī Forum des images). 14. un 15. februārī uz Pompidū centru dosies Latvijas kinozinātniece un dokumentālā kino speciāliste, Baltijas jūras dokumentālo filmu foruma vadītāja Zane Balčus, lai piedalītos filmu seansos ar ievadvārdiem un atbildēm uz skatītāju jautājumiem.