The New York Baltic Film Festival continues with the North American Premiere of Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs /Jēkabs, Mimmi un runājošie suņi. Can an imaginative boy, his know-it-all cousin and a pack of talking dogs save their happy neighborhood from a greedy developer? City-dwelling Jacob dreams of becoming an architect, just like his busy dad, and spends most of his time drawing buildings and daydreaming while his father is at work. But when his dad needs to go on a long business trip, Jacob must spend a week in Maskachka, a historical suburb of Riga, with his bossy cousin Mimmi and her ex-seaman father Eagle. Jacob is immediately enchanted by the neighborhood’s unique aura with the chirpy, witty Mimmi as his guide: its wooden houses and interesting characters are a whole new world compared to life in the city center. When the cousins discover that a businessman plans to transform a local park into skyscrapers, they know they must save the neighborhood — and find unexpected help from a pack of local dogs that… can talk! Directed by Edmunds Jansons (Latvia, Poland, 2018)

Edmunds Jansons (b. 1972) studied TV Directing at the Academy of Culture, has taken an animation directing course at VGIK in Moscow, and recently graduated with an MA from the Estonian Academy of Art. In 2002 Jansons founded the animation film studio Atom Art which has over the last years grown into one of the most prominent animation studios in Latvia. Jansons has also worked as an animation tutor at the Art Academy of Latvia and the Latvian Academy of Culture, and is also well known for his beloved and award-winning children’s book illustrations.

Festivals and Awards:
BUFF Malmo
Children’s Film Festival Australia
Nordic FF Belarus
Munich Film Festival
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Giffoni IFF
Hong Kong Kids International Festival
Sarajevo IFF
BUSTER

ASF is pleased to co-present the second New York Baltic Film Festival at Scandinavia House with motion pictures from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This year’s programming encompasses the theme of togetherness: on a personal level as well as in relationships and family history, and through the cooperation of various Baltic co-productions. It also shines through in films attempting to incorporate difficult or previously untold stories into contemporary national consciousness.

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way — when over 2 million people stood together in human chain linking the 3 capitals of Talllinn, Riga and Vilnius to peacefully call for their independence from the Soviet Union — this year’s festival aims to highlight the diversity of stories that make up the Baltic States. As a chain is made up of links, so a nation is made up of stories.

The 2019 New York Baltic Film Festival is presented by Scandinavia House and organized by the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania and Consulate of Latvia in New York. Programming is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center. Funding for the festival is courtesy of the governments of the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and by the generous donations of members of the Baltic community in New York. Additional support to the festival is provided by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and the American Scandinavian Foundation.