The International Documentary Film Festival ArtDocFest/Riga (IDFF ArtDocFest/Riga) was founded in 2020 as a fundamentally new event organized in collaboration with the association ArtDocFest & Media and leading professionals from the Baltic region's documentary film industry. While the festival adopts the internationally recognized ArtDocFest brand, it is not a direct transfer of the Moscow-based ArtDocFest to Latvia. Instead, it is an independent project with its own unique concept, focus, competition programs, and geographic scope. (See Festival History)
ArtDocFest/Riga showcases a diverse selection of contemporary international documentary films, offering a platform for bold and topical works from around the world. The festival serves not only as a venue for high-quality cinema but also as a space for conversations, discussions, and creative collaboration between audiences and industry professionals.
The festival's main events include two competition programs, both featuring Latvian premieres. The Baltic Focus competition highlights the most notable films from countries in the Baltic Sea region, with the best film receiving the "HERCS" award, dedicated to renowned Latvian documentarian Hercs Franks. The ArtdocFest Open competition expands the festival’s geographic reach, focusing on films from Eastern Europe and Eurasian countries, while also welcoming works from around the globe that address issues relevant to the region. Both competitions are evaluated by two international juries.
The festival features thematic programs, such as ArtDoc & ProArt, which highlight art, and programs focusing on significant global events, including depictions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Starting in 2024, the festival introduces Cinema Night, offering audiences the chance to experience a curated selection of films in a single evening.
Creative and scholarly discussions with documentarians and film theorists reflect the spirit of the historic Riga Documentary Film Symposium, addressing the challenges of our contemporary era.
The festival also hosts a film project competition designed to support independent filmmakers from Eastern European countries under authoritarian regimes. This initiative, funded by international institutions and foundations, aims to promote democracy and freedom of expression worldwide.
IDFF ArtDocFest/Riga is more than just a showcase of cinema—it is a space for dialogue, values, and openness. The festival actively encourages the exchange of ideas among people of different nationalities, cultures, and perspectives, fostering mutual understanding and respect. Its ambition is to become the leading documentary film festival in the Baltic region, offering exceptional films and inspiring discussions.
Each year, in response to the festival's invitation, more than 30 documentarians from around the world, along with numerous industry professionals, international press representatives, and general audiences, gather in Riga. IDFF ArtDocFest/Riga strives to uphold the unique and globally celebrated traditions of Latvian documentary cinema, established by masters such as Juris Podnieks and Hercs Franks, as well as the organizers of the Riga Documentary Film Symposium and, to some extent, the IFF Arsenāls.
The fifth IDFF ArtDocFest/Riga will take place from March 1 to 8, 2025, presenting an even more diverse program while expanding its international collaborations. The festival aims to further solidify Riga’s and Latvia’s status as a hub for documentary cinema, offering audiences the chance to experience a world-class cinematic event and engage directly with filmmakers.
Festival History
The International Documentary Film Festival ArtDocFest originated in Russia, where it was held from 2007 to 2019. Organized by the Directorate of the Laurel Branch National Documentary Film Award, the festival was directed by renowned documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky. ArtDocFest was initially created to support and promote films competing in the professional categories of the Laurel Branch, particularly Best Documentary and Best Debut Work.
The festival quickly gained popularity, attracting approximately 10,000 viewers annually. For many, it offered a rare chance to explore not only Russian auteur documentaries but also some of the finest films from international festivals. In its early years, the non-competition programs featured winners from IDFA and DOK Leipzig and highlighted the national cinemas of countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic.
As the festival grew, it began attracting audiences drawn by its spirit of freedom and resistance. Similar to the first Cinema Days in Latvia in August 1986, ArtDocFest became a platform for audiences to view their country and the world through the lens of documentary cinema, piercing the thickening Iron Curtain. The festival’s scope expanded rapidly, with an increasing number of films, premieres, and attendees. By 2014, it had become Russia’s largest documentary film festival in terms of the number of films, global and Russian premieres, screenings, and program scale.
Since 2014, when Russia began its aggressive actions against Ukraine, Russian state structures intensified pressure on the ArtDocFest festival and its director. That same year, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky announced a ban on state support for any projects associated with the festival.
In subsequent years, this pressure extended to the festival’s partners. The Ministry of Culture, senior Russian officials, and parliamentarians filed lawsuits against the festival under formal pretexts. State media, including major national television channels, launched discreditation campaigns. The festival faced aggressive protests, with venues attacked, resulting in injuries to attendees.
In 2014, the festival's president, Vitaly Mansky, was forced to relocate to Latvia. That same year, in collaboration with the Riga International Film Festival (Riga IFF), ArtDocFest premiered its documentary program in Riga.
In 2017, the Latvian festival team launched Artdoc.Media, the world’s largest online platform for legally accessing documentary films from the former USSR. Artdoc.Media offers a catalog with thousands of films, a comprehensive search system, and uncensored content accessible to Russian audiences despite government restrictions.
As pressure, censorship, and administrative barriers in Russia continued to escalate, the Riga branch of ArtDocFest expanded:
2018: The entire festival competition and jury activities were relocated to Riga.
2019: Festival winners were announced in Riga.
2020: ArtDocFest/Riga separated from Riga IFF to become the independent IDFF ArtDocFest/Riga.
2022: After government-backed organizations disrupted the festival in Moscow, ArtDocFest announced a full cessation of all in-person events in Russia.
Festival Organizers and Partners
The festival receives support from both national and international organizations, foundations, foreign embassies, and cultural institutions in Latvia. Key supporters include Riga City Council, National Film Centre of Latvia, State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, European Commission Representation, Latvian Television, online media Meduza, TV Current Time (Czech Republic, USA), US Democracy Support Fund, TV Deutsche Welle (Germany), and others.
The festival’s advisory board comprises prominent figures in the documentary film industry: Vitaly Mansky (Latvia), Arūnas Matelis (Lithuania), Filipp Kruusvall (Estonia), Uldis Cekulis (Latvia), and Victoria Belopolsky (Israel).
Riga's documentary film festival strives to promote all forms of audiovisual culture while fostering innovation and uncovering new creative directions. It seeks to engage not only industry professionals but also individuals from diverse backgrounds, encouraging broader participation in active creative fields.
A global trend reveals that the most in-demand filmmakers today are not exclusively professional cinematographers but individuals with profound insights into specific areas of human activity due to their life experiences. These unique perspectives enrich topics like science, economics, industry, education, and sports. If new filmmakers emerge from Riga’s residents, their work will naturally reflect the city’s character, potentially creating films with universal appeal and global success.
The continued development of the Riga's documentary film festival under the esteemed ArtDocFest/Riga brand positions Riga as a beacon of freedom and democracy. It stands as a testament to how documentary cinema can bridge global connections while upholding the fundamental rights to freedom and dignity for all citizens.
