Laila Pakalnina Movies

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Those of us who fly in airplanes probably don’t think about those who fly through Riga Airport on their own wings. But on any given day, up to...

The late 1950s. Every night, Soviet tractors comb the coast of Latvia looking for signs of anyone who could have infiltrated the Soviet border from...

A film about everything changing while remaining the same. Or rather – everything remaining the same while changing. We observed this (and...

The intimacy of passing by. Heading home, to work, to see a friend, to buy dinner, or perhaps to the cinema. As the seasons change, we encounter...

The ferry crosses the river, transporting people from one shore to the other, from one country to another. It runs year round, never stopping. The...

This documentary follows a bustrip from Tallinn to Kaliningrad. A route that was so common in the Soviet times now passes through 4 different...

Maria decides to go for a swim in the pool even though it looks deserted and she’s warned that the water is cold. When she gets into the pool...

Various people on the street stand stock still in front of the movie camera as though their photograph were about to be taken. This lasts just a few...

Three elderly country bachelors idle away their time amidst semi-wild nature, closer to birds and pond fish than to humans.

As soon as I finished my first marathon, I wanted to become a tripod in order to make a film about it. That is because words are certainly not the...

The morning begins when the mail is delivered - this has been a tradition for almost an eternity. This film looks at daily things, daily movements,...

Just like ordinary people, whole nations often wonder why their neighbors are living better than they are. For example, where did the Estonians...

There is a popular Latvian folksong which begins with the phrase "I was singing out high on a mountain". The irony of it is that according to...

A film about the daily life of Martin, a handicapped child who will always be dependent on his parents. Ever since he was very small, Martin has had...

It is what it is. One needs a reason to get a passer-by to stop in their tracks and stand in front of the camera for a while. In this case the reason...

A film about a plastic spoon and a society that has reached a high level of development – oil is being retrieved from subterranean depths,...

An absurdist farce centering around a school in post-Soviet Latvia. After a rather disgusting prank (someone defecates in the school attic), the...

An insight into who Kondrāts Ubāns was – painter, teacher, father, friend.

A shop by the side of the road. One after another, people enter and exit the small building. The randomness and illogical nature of the action feels...