ArtdocFest/Riga Symposium was taken place between 2 and 8 March 2023. The chosen topics resonated with the filmmakers and audiences alike and was related to the tough choices filmmakers must make in order to tell a compelling story in today’s world where the war and humanitarian crisis is continuing in the heart of Europe. Each day, the Riga Symposium focused on one topic, approaching it from different perspectives. The discussions run with the participation of the filmmakers represented at this year’s ArtdocFest/Riga.
“What are we for? Documentarians at war”
How does the purpose of a documentarian's work change when the world is on fire and human suffering becomes a horrifying daily occurrence. Are the creative ambitions of peacetime applicable in such circumstances, and what choices must a documentary filmmaker face when filming a war. A conversation with the filmmakers.
“Brutally honest – boundaries in documentary filmmaking”
A conversation about the relationship between the documentarian and the characters of the film: how far the author can go for the sake of a compelling and credible story, and whether these limits have changed in the era when a person with a smartphone has become a communicator of their own life, down to its most private details. A conversation with the filmmakers.
"The national cinema language in Latvia, how to define it?"
Can we say that Latvian documentary cinema has a national style: what constitutes it, is it static or dynamic, and how is it affected by co-production projects with other European countries. Directors and producers of Latvian documentary cinema, representing different generations, take part in the discussion.
“A Jury Session”
A unique insight into jury work: a frank discussion between three jury members, Uldis Tīrons, Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Dmitry Gluhovsky about the films of the third Artdocfest/Riga, the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s competition entries.