RIGA: Admissions to Latvian films reached 290,000 in the first half of 2018, marking an already record year for domestic cinema. In 2017 admissions to domestic films were 194,000.

RIGA: Three of the top five films at the Latvian box office are domestic releases, accounting for 28 percent of the market share. The boom is led by Aigars Grauba’s historic drama The Pagan King produced by Platforma Filma, Oskars Rupenheit’s debut feature The Foundation of Criminal Excellence produced by COMETE Films, OrderOrder and Jura Podnieka Studija, and Madara Dišlere’s family film Paradise ‘89 produced by Tasse Film.

RIGA: The National Film Center of Latvia will distribute 927,294 EUR for the production of 12 feature films with Latvian major participation. Three animated films, two feature films and seven documentaries are supported.

RIGA: Juris Kursietis is currently shooting his sophomore feature Oleg, a drama about a butcher who leaves for Brussels to work in a local meat factory, but gets under the control of a Polish criminal. The film is a Latvian/Lithuanian/Belgian coproduction with an international cast.

RIGA: Oskars Rupenheits’ debut feature comedy The Foundation of Criminal Excellence is third in the Latvian box office with 30,000 admissions in three weeks and more than 183,000 EUR gross. The movie about a scriptwriter and his friend who are getting involved in criminal business is partly crowd funded with more than 10,000 EUR.

RIGA: Ahead of Latvia's Centennial, which will be celebrated throughout 2018, the support for local film production steadily increased to 9,109,016 EUR in 2017, with more than 2 m EUR increase compared to 2016. Film production has taken a more robust path due to the Latvian Films for Latvian Centenary special programme, consisting of 16 feature films.

RIGA: Director Aigars Grauba is currently in postproduction with English language historical drama The Pagan King, starring British actor James Blurr and Swedish actor Edvin Erre. Made with a budget of 3 m EUR, the film produced by Platforma Filma and supported by the National Film Centre of Latvia is one of the most expensive Latvian films to date.

RIGA: The comedy Swingers by Andrejs Ekis will have remakes in Lithuania, Norway and Finland. Latvia’s 2016 box office hit was already adapted by Platforma Filma in Estonia and the Ukraine in 2017. Andrejs Ekis, who directed the Estonian and Ukrainian remakes, will be directing the Norwegian remake.

RIGA: Latvian/Czech/Finnish coproduction Chronicles of Melanie directed by Viesturs Kairišs won the Best Feature Film award at the Latvian national film festival Lielais Kristaps, which concluded on 14 November 2017.

RIGA: Varis Brasla's family film Grandpa Is More Dangerous than the Computer has become the most successful domestic family film in the opening week with over 13,000 admissions. The film, produced by Studio F.O.R.M.A., is also second in the Latvian admissions chart.