The National Film Centre has initiated the programme Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centennial. The call is for a slate of films high in quality, diverse in genre and socially significant, portraying themes related to Latvian history, statehood and national identity.
The aim is to reach the widest possible audience and strengthen their understanding of the evolution of the Latvian nation. The plan for the realization of the Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centennial programme includes several rounds of funding tenders with the aim of supporting no less than 12 essential feature-length films, including 5 fiction features (historical films, screen adaptations of literary classics, contemporary dramas, and films aimed at children and youth), 1 animation film and 6 documentaries. The total amount of financing to 2017 is EUR 7.5 million.
The first round of funding tenders for fiction feature and animation development was held at the end of 2014, supporting a total of 13 projects – scriptwriting, visual material and demo design and production for 11 fiction and 2 feature-length animation films. (Total funding for this round: EUR 264,654). Further evaluation will take place in October of 2015, and the strongest of the developed projects will be chosen. At least 6 features (fiction, and at least 1 animation) will go into production.
The selection round for documentaries took place in April of 2015 – 34 film projects from 26 film studios were submitted. After an evaluation by a panel of experts, 10 full-length documentaries (no shorter than 65 min.) received support not exceeding EUR 12,000 per project. Documentary film development includes subject matter presentation or scriptwriting, visual solutions and author’s intent, as well as the production of a 5-minute demo to be completed by the end of October 2015, when the next round of funding tenders will take place.
A panel of experts assembled in 2014 for the Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centennial programme evaluated the projects. The panel includes well-known Latvian artists and cultural experts: film director Jānis Streičs, poet and writer Māra Zālīte, composer, Emmy winner, Lolita Ritmanis, film scholar Viktors Freibergs, director of the New Theatre Institute and National Culture Council representative Gundega Laiviņa, and others. Fiction features were also evaluated by film patron and producer Boris Teterev.