In the previous year, Latvian cinemas have seen a dramatic increase in attendance figures for European films.
European produced films have attracted 493 570 viewers throughout Latvian cinemas in 2014. This sets a new record in Latvia’s history- it is the first time in decades that European films have pulled in such a vast portion of the public. In comparison to 2013, when 267 900 Latvians viewed European films, 2014 saw an additional 225 670 viewers, marking an almost twofold increase. In the last year, 210 European produced films were shown throughout Latvian cinemas, with Luc Besson’s sci-fi thriller Lucy topping the charts in Latvia and reaching the No. 2 spot throughout Europe, drawing in 15 202 930 viewers. At the No. 1 spot in Europe with 17 098 008 viewers is the French film Serial Bad Weddings, which was not shown in any of the Baltic countries.
2014 also marked an increased interest in Latvian produced films – 175 207 viewers attended Latvian produced films in 2014, 31 828 more than in 2013, when attendance was at 143 379. The most popular Latvian film of 2014 was director Andra Gaujas’ debut feature Izlaiduma gads / The Lesson, which attracted 34 438 viewers.
“Visibility and understanding of European cinema has been spurred on by the fact that Riga was both the European Culture of Capital in 2014 and the host of the European Film Awards last December. While a large part of Europe is unfortunately seeing a drop in attendance figures for European films, Latvian audiences have managed to actively contribute to the promotion of European cinema. This is certainly a trend we hope to see continue,” commented Dita Rietuma, Director of the National Film Centre of Latvia.