| Defenders of Riga | |
| Director: | Aigars Grauba |
| Producer: | Andrejs Ēķis |
| Starring: | Jānis Reinis Elita Kļaviņa Artūrs Skrastiņš |
| Cinematography: | Gvido Skulte |
| Editing: | Līga Pipare |
| Music: | Aigars Grauba |
| Country: | Latvia |
| Language: | Latvian, German, Russian |
| Budget: | LVL 2.2 million[1] |
Defenders of Riga (Latvian: Rīgas sargi) is a 2007 Latvian feature film directed by Aigars Grauba starring Elita Kļaviņa, Jānis Reinis, and Artūrs Skrastiņš. The film depicts the Latvian defense of Riga in November 1919 during its War of Independence. It was selected as the Latvian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 81st Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[2]
With a budget of over 2 million lats, Defenders of Riga was the most expensive Latvian film at the time.[3]
Five weeks after the premiere it had been viewed by 262,000 people, making it the most-watched film in Latvia since the regaining of independence.[4]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lielais Kristaps | Best Supporting Actress (Ināra Slucka) | |
| Best Production Design (Mārtiņš Milbrets) | |||
| Best Supporting Actor (Pēteris Krilovs) | |||
| Best Supporting Actor (Ģirts Krūmiņš) | |||
| Best Costume Design (Sandra Sila) | |||
| Best Make-Up (Emīlija Eglīte) |
The shooting of the film began in the spring of 2004. The outdoor scenes were shot at the 8.5 hectare Cinevilla backlot in Tukums, Latvia, where parts of Riga's Old Town and Riga's Pārdaugava district were built especially for Defenders of Riga. Around 200 extras took part in the film's battle scenes.[3] It was the first Latvian film to make an extensive use of special effects and computer graphics.[2]