The documentary film Miljons tautasdziesmu (A Million Folk Songs), created by UL ILFA, will be broadcast on LTV

You're invited to watch! On May 3 at 17:30, the documentary film Miljons tautasdziesmu (A Million Folk Songs), created by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (UL ILFA), will premiere on LTV1.

The film, produced in 2024, marks the completion of the monumental academic edition Latviešu tautasdziesmas (Latvian Folk Songs). It offers an audiovisual narrative of the making of the longest-running and most extensive publication in Latvian folklore—a project spanning over 70 years.

What does it mean to “write down” folk songs? How does a song travel from oral tradition to the printed page? What ideological and financial challenges had to be overcome to publish the volumes? Through archival footage and scenes from the compilers’ everyday work, the film explores what it means to live with folk songs—told by the editors themselves.

Concept and production: the Folk Song Group of the Archives of Latvian Folklore (UL ILFA)
With contributions from:

• Toms Ķencis (script collaboration)

• Krišjānis Pleiko / Upeskino (filming and editing)

• Jānis Kalvāns (sound recording)

• Lauris Ābele (creative advice)

• Vilis Daudziņš (voiceover)

Special thanks go to our colleagues and friends for their support, and to the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, subprogramme 05.04.00 “Krišjānis Barons’ Cabinet of Dainas”, for financial support.