Riga International Film festival was launched in 2014. Riga IFF has since developed a programme structure that paints a wholesome picture of the most daring and important European cinema today and allows for successful curation of Latvian film within a larger context.
Part of the festival’s infrastructure is the legendary cinema house Splendid Palace (member of Europa Cinemas), it hosts most of the film programme and events. The festival features several international competition programmes, headed by a multi-genre feature film competition within which an international jury chooses a title for the Riga IFF Award each year.
Since 2016 the festival has expanded the range of activities for industry professionals and students as well as public events during the festival – international film forum, an educational and networking platform, focus on film criticism and film literacy, public lectures, panel discussions and other audience and industry mingling events.
In 2018 RIGA IFF saw a significant rise in audience numbers, attracting more than 22 000 visitors to the festival screenings, industry and public events, with an overall attendance increase of 30% in comparison to 2017. The festival also saw an increase in the number of industry guests, welcoming over 200 international industry professionals from all over the world as well as 400 local industry professionals.
In 2019 the festival aims to continue bringing together the Latvian and European film industries, developing film culture and film literacy in the capital and in the country, while also raising the bar for the festival’s production and content value.
see the calendar
