LU konference
During the premieres event, teams of international students will talk about their films and experience in filming in Riga and meeting with experts and organizations, which have agreed to guide the students in their efforts, for instance, the Baltic Centre for Media Excellence, National Library of Latvia, Latvian National Television, interactive media “Latvijsije Vesti”, NATO Stratcom Centre of Excellence, The Baltic Centre for Investigative Journalism “Re:Baltica”, Draugiem.lv, and others.
20 students representing 12 countries – Austria, Estonia, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland, Russia and the United Kingdom – participate in Riga Summer School from August 1 – 13. Besides lectures, workshops, cultural and social program they also produce short documentaries.
Riga Summer School is organized by the Department of Communication Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Latvia already for the 7th year in a row. Executive Director of the Summer School is Kaspars Ruklis. This year the summer school is supported also by Goethe Institute Riga, German Academic Exchange Service, Live Rīga, Bite, Cannelle and other partners.
More info, photos, videos: www.rigasummerschool.eu or Riga Summer School Facebook profile
Media contact: Kaspars Rūklis, Executive Director of Riga Summer School, Kaspars.Ruklis@gmail.com or 0037129405048
Short descrition of films
FaceART
The film discusses the influence of media in arts through the example of Gallery “RIGA ART - SKY ART”. Do media and arts belong together? What influence does social media have for artists? How do they promote themselves and communicate with customers? This short film reflects upon chances and challenges that media has for two Latvian artists, who are the owners of a successfully working gallery in the city center of Riga.
Riga Summer School 2017 film by:
Elīza Bērziņa, Latvia
Mariann Jüriorg, Estonia
Jessica Kalus, Germany
Linda Ughi, Italy
THE LIBRARIAN
The documentary reflects the work of a librarian Eva Ausēja, who is working as a librarian for 13 years. During the years she observed not only the changing role of librarians but also the need of media literacy in the digital world. From her perspective the librarians' work will face dramatic challenges in the upcoming future.
Riga Summer School 2017 film by:
Elena Zimmer-Bashir, Germany
Shivashish Wali, India
Yulia Kazakova, Russia BUBBLE DEMOCRACY
Once upon a time the Internet was seen as a chance for liberation, a chance to live in a free world. Search for what you want, let your curiosity lead you, discover something new.
However, what most people don’t know is that social networks like Facebook or search engines like Google are limiting this freedom. Behind every step you take on these platforms, an algorithm is working and filtering the results and ads you get, based on your previous likes, shares and searches. While this may create a more convenient environment for the user as he or she can stay in the comfort zone, this “Filter Bubble” can also be a threat for democracy. Only one side is shown, the own ideas are constantly confirmed and polarizing opinions are strengthened.
So how can we avoid a bubble democracy? Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Rebecca Scheffauer, Austria
Annabel Bursy, Germany
Italo Vazzana, Italy DIVIDED The movie investigates the generational gap and the digital divide within the Latvian society. Divide provoked by the rapid growth of technology leads to social and economical isolation and puts barriers between the generations. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Rumena Ivanova- Bulgaria Aileen Barz - Germany Julia Freymark - Germany ONE WAY OR ANOTHER The short documentary follows a young person on her search for good news and an answer to the general question: how to identify quality journalism? Like a lot of young people, she gets her news online, but is starting to wonder about the quality of these news. One way or another, she is a part of the media and the responsibility to look for and identify trustworthy information is in her hands. Shooting from an ego perspective the viewer becomes the hero of the movie and thereby is as close to the plot as possible. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Bertalan Egry, Hungary Katharina Gasser, Italy Henrike Rau, Germany Sophie Warmbrunn, Germany DIVIDING LINES: RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MEDIA IN LATVIA The Latvian society is divided by two spheres of information – one in Latvian and one in Russian language. The short film examines the role of Russian-speaking media in Latvia. Where are the conflicts? What is the impact of Russian media? How to overcome this division? These are the questions that will guide you through the film and we tried to find answers for. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Othmara Glas, Germany Altynay Tuganbekova, Kazakhstan Rory Jackson, United Kingdom Watch the short films on www.rigasummerschool.eu (starting from mid-August).
The documentary reflects the work of a librarian Eva Ausēja, who is working as a librarian for 13 years. During the years she observed not only the changing role of librarians but also the need of media literacy in the digital world. From her perspective the librarians' work will face dramatic challenges in the upcoming future.
Riga Summer School 2017 film by:
Elena Zimmer-Bashir, Germany
Shivashish Wali, India
Yulia Kazakova, Russia BUBBLE DEMOCRACY
Once upon a time the Internet was seen as a chance for liberation, a chance to live in a free world. Search for what you want, let your curiosity lead you, discover something new.
However, what most people don’t know is that social networks like Facebook or search engines like Google are limiting this freedom. Behind every step you take on these platforms, an algorithm is working and filtering the results and ads you get, based on your previous likes, shares and searches. While this may create a more convenient environment for the user as he or she can stay in the comfort zone, this “Filter Bubble” can also be a threat for democracy. Only one side is shown, the own ideas are constantly confirmed and polarizing opinions are strengthened.
So how can we avoid a bubble democracy? Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Rebecca Scheffauer, Austria
Annabel Bursy, Germany
Italo Vazzana, Italy DIVIDED The movie investigates the generational gap and the digital divide within the Latvian society. Divide provoked by the rapid growth of technology leads to social and economical isolation and puts barriers between the generations. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Rumena Ivanova- Bulgaria Aileen Barz - Germany Julia Freymark - Germany ONE WAY OR ANOTHER The short documentary follows a young person on her search for good news and an answer to the general question: how to identify quality journalism? Like a lot of young people, she gets her news online, but is starting to wonder about the quality of these news. One way or another, she is a part of the media and the responsibility to look for and identify trustworthy information is in her hands. Shooting from an ego perspective the viewer becomes the hero of the movie and thereby is as close to the plot as possible. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Bertalan Egry, Hungary Katharina Gasser, Italy Henrike Rau, Germany Sophie Warmbrunn, Germany DIVIDING LINES: RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MEDIA IN LATVIA The Latvian society is divided by two spheres of information – one in Latvian and one in Russian language. The short film examines the role of Russian-speaking media in Latvia. Where are the conflicts? What is the impact of Russian media? How to overcome this division? These are the questions that will guide you through the film and we tried to find answers for. Riga Summer School 2017 film by: Othmara Glas, Germany Altynay Tuganbekova, Kazakhstan Rory Jackson, United Kingdom Watch the short films on www.rigasummerschool.eu (starting from mid-August).
