Haralds Ozols

An absurd game of “finding happiness” is being played by local Latvian coyotes* and illegal immigrants on the Russian and the European Union border. It is a game with no winner – all participants are driven to play by the sense of despair. While one side leaves home and undertakes a perilous journey to the other side of the globe, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in a free country, the other side risks their freedom to earn a chance to stay right where they are, in their homeland. *coyote – someone who smuggles illegal immigrants

The monument to help is a small shop in the center of Alūksne – a social, cultural, and human place in the small city of Malēnija, where everyone knows, loves, and hates each other. The walls, floors, and communications of the former Alūksne post office have worn out. In winter, a small stove barely heats the rooms. Shelves full of various items attract strangers. Loud and energetic Ginta fits perfectly into this place and situation. She knows how to chat, criticize, and help everyone. Ginta's image complements everything that happens in this charity shop, where goods cost 20 cents. This place is like an island of the past, located next to a modern supermarket where you can buy almost nothing for 20 cents. She does not know how long she will be able to maintain contact between those who donate their unwanted items to the shop and those who come to buy them for 20 cents.

A dialogue between a mother and her son.

The documentary “Residents” probes problems in Latvia in general and Latvia’s medicine in particular with the story of two energetic young interns, Kārlis and Laura.

An attempt to understand the people chanting "Atlaist Saeimu!" (Sack the parliament!) year after year. Though rarely attracting a great deal of notice, there are always individuals collecting signatures for a referendum to dissolve the parliament for one reason or another, or simply standing outside the building and reciting their familiar mantra. Latvian governments change fairly often, but the parliament has been dissolved in line wth the Constitution only once, in 2010 (in 1934 it was dissolved unconstitutionally following a coup by Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis). The actual parliament building in Old Rīga was, however, attacked in January 2009 during a very rare violent protest which precipitated the fall of Ivars Godmanis' cabinet. The documentary zips back and forth in time giving portraits of various different people and political forces pushing the idea to "Atlaist Saeimu" for different reasons.

Standing near the reptile section in a zoo we can learn a lot about the animals on both sides of the separating glass.

They prepare the resting place for us all. They do their work by standing by the side of people when they are in grief, and are the last hands to touch the grave towel that lowers the deceased a meter and a half below the ground. Alongside other ancient professions, gravediggers have inherited knowledge and skills through several generations - not only in digging holes, but also in Latvia's rich cemetery culture, where everything has its own order. Latvia's cemeteries are where traditions from different centuries meet, and every gravedigger needs to know them so that he or she can continue to receive the stamps for the job of digging graves. The most experienced of them have already received 5 000 such stamps, which is equivalent to the population of one town in Latvia.

The world is being ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic and a state of emergency has been declared in Latvia. Street musician Normunds tries to fight the pandemic's caused depression by playing his cello in Old Riga.