Both self-promotional videos of the International Film Forum "Arsenals" were filmed last week. In director chairs - Raitis Ābele and Māris Zommers, as well as Jurgis Krāsons, who walked on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival this spring.

Raitis Ābele and Māris Zommers in their video play with this year's "Arsenals" theme - Japan. The central character of the video is Simona Orinska, a dance movement therapist (more information at: simonaorinska.info), who embodies the traditions of butoh, a mixture of theatre and dance so popular in the 1960's. We will see how the traditional symbols that are found in nearly all films by Yoshishige Yoshida - a sword, a parasol and a naked woman - come to life on the screen... Yoshishige Yoshida will honour Riga with a visit becoming the special guest of this year's "Arsenals", and three of his films are included in the program of the Film Forum.

Jurgis Krāsons had invited the actor Ivars Kalniņš to be the main character of his video. As the director put it himself: "I needed a close-up of an angry policeman - a face that becomes gentler, when he sees a mother with a child amongst the ruins of a city".

This video, created in cooperation between the Art department, sound director Andris Barons and director of photography Juris Zemītis, as well as the video by R. Ābele and M. Zommers will be seen from September 1 on the website of the festival http://www.arsenals.lv/, LNT television, and of course, in cinemas "Riga" and "K. Suns", as well as on a big screen on the Railway Station Square.