(Please note screening time and date may change)
More Than a Dance (2025) by Pauls Dombrovskis
SYNOPSIS
Eighteen thousand dancers. One small nation. A story about what survives war, displacement, and time.
More Than a Dance follows a Toronto-based Latvian folk dance group — descendants of World War II refugees — as they journey back to their ancestors' homeland to take part in one of the largest folk festivals on earth: the Latvian Song and Dance Festival. For one extraordinary week, 18,000 performers fill the streets and stages of Riga in a spectacle of colour, music, and resilience that has never before been captured on the big screen.
But this is not simply a film about dance. It is about what a small nation holds onto when everything else is taken away. Latvia has survived occupation, Soviet repression, and the long silence of exile — and through it all, its people kept singing, kept dancing, kept passing something essential down to their children and their children's children. In Toronto, thousands of miles from the Baltic coast, that thread never broke.
As Russia's war in Ukraine reminds the world how fragile freedom can be, this film asks a question that feels more urgent than ever: what does it mean to carry a homeland inside you? More Than a Dance is a film for anyone who has ever belonged to two worlds — or longed to. In one of the most multicultural cities on earth, it is a celebration of identity, memory, and the remarkable human need to come home.
Original title: Vairāk kā deja
In Latvian and English with English subtitles
Documentary - 85’
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
KULTFILMA is a Latvian production company with a strong track record in both feature and documentary filmmaking. Its portfolio includes the internationally recognized war drama Blizzard of Souls (2019) and the box office hit Escape Net(2025), both directed by Dzintars Dreibergs. The studio produces films that explore culture, history, the environment, and human stories, emphasizing individuals whose work leaves a meaningful impact. Through fiction and documentary, KULTFILMA strives to create films that resonate with audiences both in Latvia and abroad.
PRODUCER’S BIO:
Ilze Falkovska joined KULTFILMA in 2015 after a decade in PR and marketing, bringing a fresh perspective to audiovisual production. She has contributed to a wide range of film and television projects, including the acclaimed war drama Blizzard of Souls. Ilze focuses on documentary filmmaking that examines culture, identity, and the interaction between people and their environment. Her approach connects personal stories with global issues, reflecting her belief that cinema can raise awareness and inspire meaningful change.
DIRECTOR’S BIO:
Pauls Dombrovskis was born in Latvia during the Soviet occupation and came of age as his country reclaimed its independence — an experience that shaped his deep interest in human resilience, identity, and transformation. He has since lived across Europe, North America, and the Pacific, bringing a genuinely international perspective to his work. In 2010, Pauls moved to Vancouver to study Film Production at Vancouver Film School on a full scholarship, and his short films have since screened at festivals worldwide and earned a nomination for the Latvian Film Awards. His work is intimate and precise — stories about people at turning points, told with care for the small details that reveal who we really are. Audiences tend to carry his films with them long after the credits roll.
This event is made possible by the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Atlanta and the American Latvian Association