Welcome all film nerds! It is now possible to follow us on Letterboxd for info on Riga Film Museum’s activities and captivating trivia about Latvian film history. Our profile is gonna have information in both Latvian and English, so don’t hesitate to give us a follow!
Link to profile here: letterboxd.com/kinomuzejs/
A workshop on the history of transforming static images into moving sequences, where participants will learn about the illusion of movement and its use in filmmaking. Participants will also learn about the most important motion illusion devices of the 19th century and discover their role in the invention of motion pictures through practical exercises.
During the workshop, participants can create motion illusion devices such as thaumatrope, praxinoscope, and phenakistoscope. The materials for the workshop are provided by the Museum.
Duration: 90 minutes
Language: Latvian, English (the language of the activity must be agreed in advance)
Target audience: from the age of 10
Maximum number of participants per group: 25
Participation fee: 3.50 €
Booking and additional information: T: (+371) 65902235; E: kinomuzejs@kinomuzejs.lv
The lesson starts with a visual journey through the history of cinema, exploring the origins of how the image was set in motion. The world’s first films are screened and an insight into the types and genres of cinema is given. Through visual examples and practical exercises, students learn what the illusion of movement is and how it is used in cinema.
The lesson is closely linked to the subject of visual arts and can be adapted for children with special needs (adapted language, additional explanations). The necessary materials are prepared by the museum and adapted to the age of the pupils.
Duration: 60–90 minutes
Language: Latvian, Russian, English (the language of the activity must be agreed in advance)
Target audience: all age groups
Maximum number of participants per group: 25
Participation fee: 3.00 €
Booking and additional information: T: (+371) 6735 8873; E: kinomuzejs@kinomuzejs.lv
› From the 1st of March when visiting Riga Film Museum of Latvian Academy of Culture, the visitor:
› Educational programs, workshops and guided tours are being organized. While attending events it is mandatory to use a medical face mask or an unvalved respirator. It must be worn throughout the event. Children between the ages of 7 and 11 can wear fabric masks.
› It is forbidden to visit the museum if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, or if you must be in self-isolation, home quarantine or strict isolation.
› Our employees are provided with personal protective equipment. Museums’ premises and surfaces are regularly cleaned and disinfected. Alcohol-containing hand disinfectants are available at the museum entrance.
› We invite you to make contactless payments or use bank cards.
› More information: E: kinomuzejs@kinomuzejs.lv; T: +371 6735 8873
Opening hours
Monday – closed
Tuesday – 11.00–18.00
Wednesday – 11.00–18.00
Thursday – 11.00–18.00
Friday – 11.00–18.00
Saturday – 11.00–17.00
Sunday- closed
Riga Film museum will be closed for visitors from June 23 – June 26, and we’ll be happy to see you back at the museum starting from Tuesday, June 29. On the day before the holidays (June 22) the museum will be open until 5pm.
Happy holidays!
Due to the current situation in regards to COVID-19 Riga Film museum will be closed from December 19, 2020 until further notice.
Take care of yourselves and your families till then, and we hope to see you soon! Until it’s safe again to meet in person you are more than welcome to follow us on our social media: we are active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!
Considering the epidemiological situation in the country, we invite visitors to use face masks during the museum visit!
The first conference was held in 2014 in Tallinn (Estonia) by Estonian Film Museum, Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia and Tallinn University Baltic Film and Media School. Later, other organizations joined Estonian Film Institute, Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council (BAAC) and Tallinn University Centre of Excellence in Media Innovation and Digital Culture (MEDIT).
From 2019, the conference became mobile, and Vilnius (Lithuania) was the first host of this moving conference. The conference was organized by Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Media Education and Research Center NGO „Meno avilys“, together with the partners: Vilnius Documentary Film Festival, Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia, Latvian Academy of Culture and strategic partner Lithuanian Council for Culture.
The conference will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/LKAkademija
A unique opportunity to watch the oldest surviving fiction film that was shot in the territory of Latvia – “Where’s the Truth? The Tragedy of a Jewish School Girl” at the opening event of Riga International Film Festival on October 15! The event will be the premiere of the restored version of this film, and it will be available for free viewing worldwide. This film was restored at the initiative of Riga Film museum.
In the snowy streets of Riga at the beginning of the last century, horses pull carriages, a student couple in love meet at the Cathedral of the Nativity, a tram slides along Alexander Boulevard, and bare trees sway in the windy alleys. So as not to freeze, men crossing the Opera Bridge have shoved their hands in their pockets, while the women have fur muffs… The story, however, takes place in an unnamed place outside of the Pale of Settlement*.
Having come from Bessarabia province, Adele Weisekind is listening in to university lectures because the Jewish student quota is full. Soon an alarming message arrives – as she has no right to live here, the police inform her that she must leave the city within three days. In an effort to stay, Adele registers as a prostitute. While her beloved, Rafail Edelgerts, goes to see his frail father, Adele is arrested on suspicion of robbing a drunken gentleman. In prison, her dire situation brings on a nervous fever in which she relives her happy childhood and the death of her parents in an anti-Jewish pogrom…
This is the oldest surviving feature film shot in the territory of Latvia. The end of this tragic love story, in which the forlorn Rafail himself dies on a cold night at Adele’s grave, has been lost. The script is based on the play At Sea and Ellis Island by Abraham Shaikewitz Schomer, a lawyer, writer and architect of the idea for a World Jewish Congress; the play has been repeatedly cinematized and performed in theatres.
*A territory within the borders of czarist Russia wherein the residence of Jews was legally authorized and beyond which a few were allowed to live – those with university education or baptized, registered prostitutes, members of the most affluent of the merchant guilds and some military personnel.
The silent film “Where is the Truth?! The Tragedy of a Jewish School Girl” that was shot in Riga and Ventspils reached audiences in 1913, thanks to Siegfried Mintus – a producer, owner of film theatres and distributor of motion pictures and cinema equipment. In 2020, the film was restored by the studio Locomotive Classics at the initiative of the Riga Film Museum, and with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation.
The museum is open as usual. The only change is the public health safety regulations:
– We can accomodate maximum of 25 people. When planning your visit, please give us a call (67 358 873) or send us an e-mail: kinomuzejs@kinomuzejs.lv
– If you are feeling unwell and have any kind of respirotary disease please postpone your visit to Riga Film museum until you’re feeling better!
– We are currently receiving individual visitors or people from one household only. No group visits are allowed yet
– Please follow the directions in the museum and keep 2 m distance!
– Museum is cash only.
We are looking forward to seeing you here!