Vectēvs

Over the past year, three young scientists have found unusual colored frogs in the wild in Latvia that are not typical for our region. A green frog with unusual orange and black coloring—seen for the first time—as well as a strange red frog. Scientists are trying to determine the cause – whether these are "natural errors" in a few specimens, or whether the entire frog population is affected – with environmental pollution being cited as one of the reasons. In a parallel story the scientists are conducting research on the restored tree frog population, observing the results of a project implemented in the 1990s – at that time, the extinct tree frog species was successfully restored and is once again found on the Kurzeme coast.

Romeo n’ Juliet depicts the contemporary love story of a young Latvian girl, Juliet, and a Russian guy, Romeo. Juliet aimlessly spends tiresome days in Jūrmala; all she has to look forward to is leaving for England with her best friend in search of a better life. Romeo also wants to live for something and dreams of a hip-hop musician’s life in Russia. After Romeo sees Juliet for the first time and falls in love, their dreams and hopes for a better future collapse in a matter of days.

The film tells about an active senior, Mārtiņš Ziebergs (65), who is spending his old days and retirement looking for lost people; there are hundreds of them in Latvia. Following his activities, the film discloses both the everyday routine of the senior – life of “a detective” and process of investigation – as well as the outcome of it – unexpected reunions of the ones who have been searching for each other for years and also unmade reunions or cases never solved.

Budding lawyer Vik is disappointed in himself. He tries to change and please everyone until he loses sight of himself. Vik meets the mysterious Mirror Man who offers to help him regain his self-esteem and become the kind of person Vik dreams of becoming. Vik agrees, but the Mirror Man at times leaves Vik in situations where he surprises others not just by his new-found self-confidence, but also by insolence that causes a rift with his closest friends. Soon the Mirror Men in Vik’s life are too many to control, and when he tries to back away – it’s too late.

How does it feel to be old? The characters in this film have passed their 80th birthdays, but their age doesn’t define them. Instead, they are defined by their attitude towards life and aging. Still very positive, active and with sharp minds, four inspiring seniors from Latvia continue doing things that excite them despite the physical and other challenges that accompany their years.

Dagne, her husband and teenage daughter live in a peaceful Latvian countryside. While everyone is busy with their own thing, the family ties are loosening. Dagne is diagnosed with slowly progressing deafness. Acceptance of the new situation and the need to adapt to new ways of communication, including learning sign language, is not easy for neither of them. Dagne feels left alone and not supported during this hard time of her life her. Her daughter is very busy with her music band and preparation for an upcoming contest. Her husband is occupied with work at the farm. Even simple daily things become complicated, impossible and emotionally hard.

After his wife kicks him out of the house, an elderly, anti-social and quite conservative man Arvīds decides to reconnect with his grandson by staying with the boy and his mother. Not keen on their lifestyle, the old man tries hard to accept all the eccentricities of the young and liberal. Fortunately for him, a warm-hearted friend of Arvīds’ ex-daughter-in-law is always around to help and he seems to be a natural when it comes to children and other stubborn people. When Arvīds finds out that the young man is gay, he decides he has had enough. Often, life is not that much about finding your place, as about learning how to share that place with others. This short film is a light and playful experience, looking into the definition of “normal” that varies so strongly from generation to generation.