ArtDoc & ProArt
07.03. – 09.03.2025
The Artdoc&Proart program at IDFF Artdocfest/Riga is a unique platform that brings together the worlds of documentary cinema and contemporary art, creating a space for experimentation, bold explorations, and new forms of expression. The films in this program challenge traditional documentary formats and seek innovative ways to depict reality, transcending the boundaries between cinema, performance, visual art, and philosophy.
This program invites viewers to reconsider their perspectives on identity, the environment, and the significance of art, offering captivating and thought-provoking cinematic experiences.
🎥 Find more about Artdocfest here.
Film screenings
8 March, 18.00
Free with prior registration.
“Sex in the Soviet Union”, 2024, directed by Chad Gracia
Movie language – Ukrainian and Russian, subtitles in English.
A cinematic journey through seven decades of sexual ignorance, oppression, and suffering, brought to life through the words and experiences of the first Soviet sexologist. Ukrainian survivors of the regime recount the harsh realities they endured, from the pervasive suppression of sexual expression to the rampant exploitation and abuse that plagued Soviet society. Delving into the darkest corners of the regime, the film sheds light on the underground worlds of pornography, prostitution, sexpionage, gay life, the gulag, abortion, rape and the daily terrors of searching for intimacy in a totalitarian regime. Through archival footage, powerful personal testimonies, and the insights of leading experts, this documentary offers an unflinching exploration of the sexual mores and brutal repression that defined life in the USSR. It serves as a poignant reminder of the grave consequences of suppressing fundamental aspects of human existence and warns of the personal toll behind the global spread of authoritarianism.
Find more about the film here.
8 March, 20.00
Free with prior registration.
“House of Velvet”, 2023, directed by Ivana Hucíková & Igor Smitka
Movie language – Slovak, Czech and English, subtitles in English.
House of Velvet is a short film that follows a day in the life of the Kiki House of Velvet members. Scattered moments from their everyday experiences in the outside world dissolve when everyone meets again in the safety within their chosen family. Scripted scenes merged with authentic and lived experiences of the characters show how the ballroom culture intertwines with their lives & vice versa.
Find more about the film here.
“Avant-Drag!”, 2024, directed by Fil Ieropoulos
Movie language – Greek and Albanian, subtitles in English.
Avant-Drag! offers an exhilarating look at ten Athenian drag performers who deconstruct gender, nationalism, belonging, identity, while facing police brutality, transphobia and racism. As entertaining as it is thought-provoking, Avant-Drag! challenges societal norms and reshapes perceptions about LGBTQ+ culture by capturing the intimate lives of a tightly-knit group of drag performers, proving that being othered never felt so familiar.
Find more about the film here.