Laila Pakalniņa's Film "I Am Thinking About a Cat" Premieres at Riga International Film Festival

Latvian director Laila Pakalniņa's feature film "I Am Thinking About a Cat" ("Es domāju par kaķi") had its premiere on Tuesday, 20 October, at the Splendid Palace cinema in Riga, as part of the Riga International Film Festival. The film is in the festival's competition programme and, after its national premiere, will be released in cinemas, community centres and other venues across Latvia.

Its world premiere took place in late 2025 at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A story built from strangers' photo negatives

Pakalniņa and cinematographer Gints Bērziņš came into possession of 36 boxes of photo negatives exposed between the 1960s and 1980s. Unknown photographers had captured moments from their own lives and from Latvia over a span of 20 years.

According to the film's description, a man named Antons lived in the 1960s and photographed whatever he saw. His son Raitis took up photography after his father's death. The project was initially conceived as a documentary, but during two years of shooting it became a feature film, with roles given to actors.

Creative team

Pakalniņa is the screenwriter and director, and Bērziņš the cinematographer. The team also includes production designer and costume designer Juris Pakalniņš, make-up artist Ilze Trumpe, editor Ieva Veiverīte, sound director Anrijs Krenbergs, casting director Gunita Groša and line producer Agne Skane.

International recognition and accompanying events

At the GoEast international film festival in Wiesbaden, Germany, the film won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) prize. It has also been shown at the Filmadrid International Film Festival in Madrid, as well as at film festivals in Mexico and Brazil.

Until 25 October, Splendid Palace is hosting an exhibition of black-and-white photographs by Bērziņš, titled "Photographs from Series No. 179". On 24 October, the Auseklis cinema in Talsi will hold a special premiere screening for residents of the Talsi area who took part in the film.