The festival took place 15 September – 25 October in Riga. Ruch and Norie, written and directed by Ināra Kolmane and produced by Film Studio Deviņi, took home Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography awards. The Best Documentary Award was presented by Latvian Minister of Culture Dace Melbārde.
Ruch and Norie tells the story about a friendship between a young Japanese anthropology student from Kyoto and an 81 year-old lady from an ethnographic Latvian community called Suiti. Despite their cultural and social differences they become best friends.
The short film Pa Pa by young Latvian filmmaker Valery Olehno took home three Great Christopher statues for Best Short, Best Director and Best Actor (Andris Keišs), while the autobiographical documentary My Father the Banker/Mans tēvs baņķieris, directed by Ieva Ozoliņa, won in Best Debut and Best Editing categories. The documentary Lost in Latgale/Pazust Latgalē about extreme sports won an Audience Award.
The Award for lifetime achievement in Latvian filmmaking was presented to the remarkable cinematographer Miks Zvirbulis. Zvirbulis has worked on nearly 40 documentaries and feature films and is best known for his work on Take a Deep Breath/Elpojiet dziļi.
This year the festival revived a historical tradition, assigning film professionals and nominees themselves as jury members. Over the course of a month, more than 400 people visited film screenings and evaluated nominees in order to select winners.
The list of winners follows:
Best Animated Film
Tower/Tornis
Directed by Māris Putniņš
Production: Animācijas brigade
Best Short Film
Pa Pa
Directed by Valērijs Oļehno
Producer: Katrīna Tomašicka
Best Documentary
Ruch and Norie
Directed by Ināra Kolmane
Production: Film Studio Deviņi
Best Documentary Short
Curonians/Kurši
Directed by Raitis Ābele, Lauris Ābele
Production: Tritone Studio
Best TV Documentary
Passion of Architect. Zaiga Gaile/Arhitekta kaislība. Zaiga Gaile
Directed by Andrejs Verhoustinskis
Best Screenplay
Ināra Kolmane for Ruch and Norie
Directed by Ināra Kolmane
Production: Film Studio Deviņi
Best Actress
Guna Zariņa for Normal People/Normāli cilvēki
Directed by Alise Zariņa
Production: Cardinal productions
Best Actor
Andris Keišs for Pa Pa
Directed by Valērijs Oļehno
Producer: Katrīna Tomašicka
Best Cinematography (Short feature)
Valdis Celmiņš for Mirror-man/Spoguļvīrs
Directed by Agnese Laizāne
Production: VFS films
Best Cinematography (Documentary)
Andrejs Verhoustinskis for Ruch and Norie
Directed by Ināra Kolmane
Production: Film Studio Deviņi
Best Director (Short Film)
Valērijs Oļehno for Pa Pa
Producer: Katrīna Tomašicka
Best Director (Documentary)
Ināra Kolmane for Ruch and Norie
Production: Film Studio Deviņi
Best Director (Animated Film)
Edmunds Jansons for Isle of Seals/Roņu sala
Production: Atom Art
Best Animator
Anu-Laura Tuttelberg, Valdis Brože for Time goes/Laiks iet
Directed by Ivo Briedis
Production: Atom Art
Best Original Score
Pēteris Vasks for Birds of God/Dieva putniņi
Directed by Dzintra Geka
Production: Fund Sibīrijas bērni
Best Editing
Linda Olte for My Father the Banker/Mans tēvs baņķieris
Directed by Ieva Ozoliņa
Production: Mistrus Media
Best Sound Editing
Andris Barons for Alias Loner/Segvārds Vientulis