WANDER

Riga Pasaules Film Festival is opening its call for films for its 13th edition, to be held at Kino Bize from May 6th to 10th, 2026.

The festival’s curating team is calling for documentary films that approach filmmaking through drift, where the filmmaker is not guided by a clear destination but by the emotional and sensorial aspects of the environment. We draw inspiration from Guy Debord’s dérive as a notion that involves letting go with trust in the process and its potential outcomes.

We are looking for filmmakers who are present in the process and set the conditions for situations to happen, making the audience feel as if the film made itself. We are interested in protagonists who are captured in the moment and whose spontaneous responses to their circumstances offer insights as to who they are.

We are curating a programme that features spontaneity and analyzes the conditions for spontaneous creation. We are also interested in approaches to filmmaking that focus on the relationships that are generated through the filmmaking process, rather than view filmmaking as a technical exercise. The construction of tone is not pre-designed but emerges in the filmmaking process.

NB: RPFF 2026 has a 3 EUR submission fee.

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rigapasaulesfilmfestival

Visit the Kino Bize website for information on the 2026 edition of the festival: www.kinobize.lv/en/rpff

The RPFF team

Awards & Prizes

RPFF is a non-competitive festival.

Rules & Terms

RPFF does not pay screening fees.

Submissions that are not in English must be subtitled in English.

If your film is selected, in order to provide a translation into Latvian we will require an .srt subtitle file.

Screening formats accepted by Kino Bize: DCP or HD video file (preferably .mp4, 1080 and higher).

By submitting a film, the holder of the copyright agrees that the preview copy of the film will remain within the festival archive at the Department of Social Anthropology of Tallinn University, as part of their research and educational film collection and that the film can be used for non-profit screening events with no screening fee, organised by the Department of Social & Cultural Anthropology of Tallinn University.
11 Reviews
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  • Louise Boer

    One of my favourite festivals! Great people and the film selection is always special :)

    May 2026
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  • Jana Raschdorf

    I had a great time at the Riga Pasaules Film Festival 2024. It was such an honor to be selected among other talented documentary filmmakers. The cinema is such a beautiful and cozy space and having my film screened in it was a wonderful and intimate experience. Everyone was very nice, too and Q&A sessions invited to dive into the movies even deeper and connect with the directors and crew members.

    September 2024
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  • Mauro Bucci

    An amazing festival with filmmakers and scholars focused on ethnographic filmmaking and screenings of many interesting documentaries. Besides it is an event with an engaged and competent audience in documentary cinema.
    Thanks to Carlo Cubero, Festival programme curator, and all the Festival Team!

    May 2024
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  • Matthew Lancit

    This is a great festival. The programming is carefully thought out and well put together. The films are always interesting discoveries. And, most of all, it's just a really intimate atmosphere with warm and friendly people who are passionate about what they are doing. Also, it's the kind of festival where you actually get to spend time talking with the other filmmakers. A shared experience.

    May 2024
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  • Tomáš Vynikal

    Superb festival and mainly excellent organisers. An unforgettable experience for me.

    August 2023
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