“Miljons tautasdziesmu” documentary short film now available to the public
The documentary short film A Million Folk Songs, produced by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA), is now publicly available on the Archives of Latvian Folklore YouTube channel.
In autumn 2024, with the publication of Volume 13, the academic edition Latvian Folk Songs (Latviešu tautasdziesmas) was brought to completion. This made the collection of more than one million Latvian folk songs preserved in the Archives of Latvian Folklore available to the wider public and marked the completion of one of the longest-running projects in the history of Latvian publishing.
The documentary short film A Million Folk Songs tells the story of the making of the academic edition Latvian Folk Songs. It explores a unique scholarly undertaking—the most extensive publication of its kind since Krišjānis Barons’ Latvju dainas – whose history spans different eras and political regimes. The film aims to highlight the significance of the folk-song heritage in Latvian cultural history, broaden public knowledge about the collection and publication of folk songs following the appearance of Latvju dainas, dispel common myths, and foster a deeper understanding of the functions of folk songs.
The short film was produced by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation.
We would like to thank the National Library of Latvia, the University of Latvia, the Latvian Academy of Sciences, the National Archives of Latvia – particularly the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents – and the Chancery of the President of Latvia for their cooperation. We also extend our thanks to the film’s creative consultant Lauris Ābele, Upeškino Ltd., particularly Krišjānis Pleiko, and everyone who contributed to creating and telling this story.
