Competition Programme  

All movies

Family Instinct

Alcohol, violence and extreme poverty make the remote Latvian countryside a living hell. 28-year-old Zanda lives in a decaying wooden house with her family. Zanda’s incestuous brother is sent to jail for abusing their children. They have run out of money and can no longer even afford alcohol. The grandmother leans against the kitchen wall and asks why she should love her children. She regrets ever giving birth to them. This documentary captures its main characters’ suffering compellingly. Even though the realism borders on tragicomedy, the audience is still left with a lump in their throat.

Festivals

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2011

Andris Gauja

Andris Gauja was born in Latvia, in 1978. He studied theatre, film and television screenwriting in Latvian Academy of Culture; he has worked as a television and press journalist, learned to play the flute professionally and is still playing music. At the present time, he is engaged in documentary film making. His films deal with rather causing themes, such as national minorities, incurable diseases or social problems.

Selected Filmography:

3000 km to the Promised Land (2006)
Victor (2009)

Information

Director and Scriptwriter: Andris Gauja
Cinematography: Aleksandrs Grebņevs
Music: Ģirts Koknēvičs, Ingus Baušķenieks, Andris Gauja
Sound: Egons Kronbergs
Film Editing: Tambet Tasuja, Andris Gauja  
Producer: Madara Malberga
Production: Fa Films
Latvia, 2010, 58 min.