Is Latvia Good Enough for Your Next Production? Well, It Was for Werner Herzog

Shooting in Latvia? It is definitely worth a shot. The Baltics have recently hosted large-scale commercial productions, big-name directors, and loads of foreign TV-series. While the region evolves and becomes more and more western every day, the costs still remain comparatively low. If you are considering Latvia as a filming location, you might, however, have some questions.

Isn’t Latvia really tiny?

It depends. Do you think Switzerland is really tiny? You might. Anyway, Latvia is bigger than that. Being small has many advantages, for example, everything is at most a few hours away and you can change from an urban setting to a scenic seaside location within thirty minutes.

The official language of Latvia? Is it Russian? Or... Latin or something?

Sorry, no Latin. We speak Latvian, but as it is a weird language only Latvians understand, most of us, especially in the film industry, speak decent English. We do have this little funny accent, but it is a clear and very understandable one. You’ll love it. If necessary, we can also speak Russian and a few locals on the set will know some German as well. We also pick up words in other languages quite quickly. Except for the swear words, of course, because we are nice, polite and a little bit shy.

When you say it is going to be cheap to shoot in Latvia, how cheap are we talking?

Compared to other popular filming destinations, expenses are extremely budget-friendly. For example, filming in Prague, Czech Republic would be 40% more expensive. For international productions filmed in Latvia, The National Film Center of Latvia also offers co-financing options all year round with an open deadline. For films or TV shows shot partly in Latvia it is possible to receive a cash rebate of up to 25%. Highly trained and internationally experienced film professionals work for daily rates that are flexible and negotiable, depending on the scale and length of the project. Filming gear, world-class equipment and spacious indoor and outdoor studios are available for surprisingly low prices as well as casting agencies, post-production services or anything else you might need.

What does Latvia even look like?

This small country can look very varied. Latvia has been influenced by many cultures and it shows. You can easily find very diverse settings – the capital city Riga has a western and modern vibe, but in the heart of the city, the old town, you will find medieval cobbled streets along with buildings dating back to 15th century. Riga is known for having the highest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings in the world. As soon you step out of Riga, you can also step out of the 21th century scenery-wise. We have thousands of castles and manors, some of them posh, some others, let’s say – “authentic”. Yes, we were lazy to renovate, but it turns out to be a good thing, because having no plastic windows and no modern floorings make them perfect for filming the good old times – from medieval to late 19th century. Besides, our art department and set construction experts are masters of bringing the past back. Or the future, if necessary.

What about nature?

So glad you asked. There are 500 kilometers of sandy shoreline, and more than half of Latvia’s landscape is absolutely green and covered by forests. That includes many isolated and magical natural parks we may allow you to film in, if you promise to behave and be friendly towards the animals. There are several historical sites where nature meets culture, offering unique sights. But the very best thing is the light. We can never have open air cinemas, because in summer the sunset comes incredibly late – we get up to 17 hours of daylight in the summer. While the summers are mild, the winters are... scenic. Okay, they are cold, we admit, but everything looks like a true winter wonderland. Each of Latvia’s four seasons come with distinctive colors and amazing light.

But what if I am still not convinced?

Take it from the great Werner Herzog who said: “There are very interesting and impressive locations in Latvia. The craftsmen and technicians, as well as the local acting talents are the equals of any in the world.” And if you don’t believe him (how can you not?), come and visit. It is easy to do, because Riga Airport, the largest airport in the Baltics, serves major airlines as well as many low cost carriers and offers direct flights to more than 100 destinations.