By Ilona Bērziņa
Located in Slampe Parish, Tukums Municipality, Cinevilla is one of Latvia’s most unusual cultural and tourism attractions – the largest outdoor backlot in Northern Europe. Here, time periods, locations and entire cities change. Not digitally, but physically. Over the years, Cinevilla has recreated the atmosphere of early 20th-century Riga, complete with riverfront promenades, markets, boat piers and the wooden architecture of Pārdaugava. It has also hosted a 13th-century Semigallian settlement featuring a castle, harbor, ships and Viking-style buildings. The acclaimed historical drama Rūdolfa Mantojums, directed by Jānis Streičs, was filmed here as well. This year Cinevilla celebrates its 22nd anniversary. BNN spoke with its creator, film producer and director Andrejs Ēķis, about the unique story behind this extraordinary place.
Cinevilla began as a set for a single film. Today it has become much more. How would you describe it?
I won’t hide the fact that Cinevilla is my greatest hobby, passion and business – a place where I invest my heart, time and soul. Originally built for the historical feature film Defenders of Riga (Rīgas sargi), Cinevilla has evolved into one of Northern Europe’s most distinctive film production infrastructures. It is a ready-made cinematic world capable of transforming with remarkable speed into different countries, historical periods and realities.
Cinevilla is a functioning European backlot – a 150-hectare open-air production environment in Latvia where historical streets, river embankments, railway platforms, villages and architecture from various eras already exist and are simply waiting for cameras. One of our greatest strengths is the adaptability of our sets. The same street can become Riga, Vienna, Paris or New York simply by changing facades, signs and props.
International producers seeking European-scale production opportunities without the overcrowded infrastructure of Prague, Budapest or Berlin highly value what Cinevilla offers – a world that is already built. For example, Blizzard of Souls (Dvēseļu putenis) used our railway station and platform, while the international series Sisi used a nineteenth-century European street and partially constructed building sets.
In filmmaking, more than almost anywhere else, time is money, and Cinevilla is a tool that helps save time. Producers appreciate that Latvia still maintains the professional standard of a 12-hour filming day, whereas effective filming hours are increasingly restricted in many Western European countries. We also benefit from long summer daylight hours, allowing productions to shoot late into the evening without expensive artificial lighting. Another advantage is that we have our own hotel on-site, eliminating time-consuming travel between locations. If I had to describe Cinevilla in one sentence, I would say: “Cinevilla Studio is the Baltic backlot where Europe’s film industry can rapidly build the realities required for its stories.”
After filming Defenders of Riga, it would have seemed logical to dismantle the sets. Why didn’t you?
I disagree that dismantling them would have been logical. We realized something very important: building a convincing historical city from scratch is extremely expensive. Once it exists, destroying it means eliminating a creative investment that can continue serving future productions. In much of Europe, film sets are part of a temporary economy. You spend enormous sums building them and then pay again to demolish them.
At Cinevilla, the logic is completely different. Once you build a street, district or environment, it can remain useful for years. Imagine if long-running television series had to rebuild the same sets every season. Producers would go mad from the waste of time and money. That is why Cinevilla seeks not only feature films but also major international series and franchises—projects that live within these environments for years.
There are excellent international examples. The Harry Potter films were shot at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom. Instead of destroying sets, costumes and props, they were preserved and reused. Warner Bros. later invested more than 100 million pounds into transforming the facility and opened the permanent Making of Harry Potter attraction in 2012. Another example is Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland, which became the foundation of an entire regional film industry. Many of its sets were preserved and transformed into the official Game of Thrones Studio Tour.
Cinevilla sees itself moving in a similar direction—not as a static studio, but as a living cinematic environment.
Latvia offers film incentive programmes. Why are they attractive to foreign producers?
Latvia operates a cash rebate system. A producer spends money in Latvia, submits reports and, if all requirements are met, receives a portion of those expenses back. Combined support can reach up to 50% of eligible local expenses—up to 30% from the national investment programme administered through LIAA and up to 20–25% through the Riga Film Fund. This allows Latvia to compete successfully with Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland and other countries offering production incentives.
It is a win-win situation. Producers reduce production costs, while Latvia gains jobs for local crews, equipment rental companies, hotels, catering providers, transport services, security companies and production infrastructure. I am pleased that policymakers increasingly understand that exporting film and television production services can generate substantial long-term economic benefits.
How has the streaming era changed the industry?
Streaming has fundamentally transformed European filmmaking. Previously there was a clear release sequence: cinema release, pay television, DVD sales and finally free television. Streaming has made the process far more flexible. Films can now appear in cinemas and on streaming platforms almost simultaneously.
A recent European Audiovisual Observatory study found that films performing well in cinemas receive, on average, eleven times more viewing time on streaming platforms than films with weak theatrical releases. This creates opportunities for smaller film-producing countries. EU regulations require streaming services to ensure that at least 30% of their catalogues consist of European works and that those works receive visibility.
Of course, visibility does not guarantee success among thousands of available titles. Nevertheless, theatrical premieres remain important cultural events, particularly for major franchises supported by sequels, spin-offs, fan communities, merchandise and global marketing campaigns.
What does the streaming boom mean for film studios?
This is exactly the right moment for studios like Cinevilla. Streaming platforms demand facilities capable of supporting entire seasons of television productions, not merely a few days of shooting. Competitive studios therefore need flexible sets, outdoor environments, interior spaces, workshops, costumes, props, technical equipment, virtual production capabilities and experienced local crews. Cinevilla provides all of this in one place. Our ability to adapt quickly to changing industry requirements is one of the keys to our success.
That is why I always say that Cinevilla is a living studio. Its artificial worlds can rapidly transform into settings for fantasy films, westerns, thrillers, historical dramas, romantic productions or television series. Cinevilla is essentially a backlot film city. Many facades exist only on one side, buildings may be shallow and windows may not be real, but on camera everything appears entirely convincing.
That is the magic of cinema.
You often say: “Differentiate or die.” What makes Cinevilla different?
We have 150 hectares of land that can be transformed according to the most ambitious and unconventional creative demands. We can dig trenches, create artificial rivers, reshape gravel pits, transport sand and timber, build fortifications and stage controlled explosions. Unlike many European locations surrounded by dense urban environments, we are not constrained by endless approval procedures. Things happen faster and more efficiently here. Nearby farms and rural infrastructure also make it easy to work with horses, livestock and other elements often required for historical productions.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Cinevilla is that it no longer belongs solely to the film industry. When productions are not taking place, the site hosts festivals, corporate events, concerts, obstacle races and private celebrations. Events such as Stipro Skrējiens and Danger Fest have transformed the streets into alternative realities filled with lights, performances and actors. That gives the place a unique energy.
If you had to compare Cinevilla with Hollywood, what would you say?
In many ways, Cinevilla does what Hollywood did during its earliest years in the beginning of the twentieth century. We are building a place where cinematic reality can become any story imaginable. Hollywood is a global dream factory. Cinevilla is smaller, more modest and rougher around the edges. But the mechanism of cinematic magic is exactly the same. Using timber, plasterboard, paint, lighting, digital post-production and imagination, we create realities that audiences are willing to believe.
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