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TheBaltic European country ofLatvia has producedanimation since the 1930s, with increased international attention toLatvian animation since the 2010s. Due to the comparatively small size of the Latvian animation industry, Latvian animators have participated in animation collaborations with studios and animators from other countries.
In the 21st century, the LatvianMinistry of Culture provides funding to some Latvian animation studios.[1]
Latvian animation developed in the wider context of Eastern European animation, with influences drawn fromRussian animation in particular.[1]
Early Latvian animations were characterized by puppetry andstop motion, as seen in the first professional Latvian animation,Arnold Burovs' 1996Ki-ke-ri-gū!/Cock-a-doodle-doo![2]
Many Latvian animators have expressed interest in establishing "a stylistic continuity" and a specifically Latvian style of animation, rather than copying styles pioneered by other countries. This uniquely Latvian style may include a "penchant forsurrealist landscapes and bizarre metaphors". Latvian animatorSigne Baumane has stated that "Latvian filmmakers operate on a notion of visual metaphors, some of which translate outride of the Latvian context, but some of which don't...American films are more literal".[1]
For much of Latvian history, the country offered no animation programs in schools. As such, many Latvian animators have been self-taught and/or have come from fine art backgrounds. Some Latvian animators have studied in Estonia; the two countries have been involved in multiple animation collaborations.[1]
In the 1930s, graphic artistOļģerts Ābelīte and caricaturistErnests Rirdāns experimented with the animation technique.[2]
In 1969, a two-person animation team (Roze Stiebra andAnsis Bērziņš) was established byLatvian Television.[3][4] Stiebra worked as a writer and director, and Bērziņš as a camera operator and (after 1972) a director.[4] Their first film was titledLietaina diena (English: Rainy Day).[3] The team released an average of two short films each year, utilizing stop motion and materials like cardboard, canvas, celluloid, fabric, and application paper.[3][4] Many of the films were centered on a poem, song,[3] and a piece of Latvian literature.[4] The first hand-drawn animated Latvian film,Kabata (The Pocket) was created in 1983.[3][4] In the late 1980s, the Latvian Television animation team, comprising both puppet animators and hand-drawn animators, split off to form their own studio, Dauka, underRiga Film Studio.[3]
The first full-length animated film produced in Latvia was Dauka'sNess un Nesija (1991). In 1992, the puppet animators of Dauka left, leaving the studio to produce only hand-drawn animated films. The puppet animators formed Animacijas Brigade. These two studios were the dominant animation producers in the country until 1995, when Rija Studio was established.[5]
The first computer-animated Latvian film,Aija Bley'sEza Kazocins, was released in 2005. In 2007, the first Latvian animated documentary film,Edmund Jansons'Little Bird's Diary, was released.[3]
In 2010, the country's first animation studio, Dauka, closed.[6] Latvian animation has seen further attention internationally since the 2010s. The 2024independently animated filmFlow, a Latvian, Belgian, and French co-production, wonmultiple awards, including the 2025Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the country's firstAcademy Award. It was also the first Latvian film to win theBest Animated Feature Film; the statuette would later be put on display at theLatvian National Museum of Art.[7][8][9] In the aftermath of the film's win, the Latvian government pledged additional funding for animation competitions within Latvia.[10]
