Baltic Event Works in Progress
Youth Eternal
A group of millennials embark on a psychedelic and chaotic journey to embrace responsibility.
Amidst a psychedelic festival, millennials embark on a self-discovery journey. Parenthood, depression, quitting weed, and documenting self-destructive behavior test their bonds. Together, they navigate newfound responsibilities.
In the midst of an orgiastic, psychedelic music festival, a group of millennials find themselves on a wild journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, their close friends Ieva and Alex have just entered the world of parenthood. Kitija grapples with depression, feeling increasingly isolated from her friends. Anna, seeking better mental health, decides to quit using weed, but this choice strains her relationship with Kaspars, who cultivates it at home. As they struggle to influence Martin's self-destructive behavior, Dainis begins documenting it on video, inadvertently creating a reality show. Together, they embark on a new reality of responsibility for themselves and those they care about.
Director's note:
When I started working on the film, I did not yet know that my close friend - a prototype for one of the characters in the film, will commit suicide. He did this in a remote country house during the first wave of the pandemic. These tragic events have only strengthened my conviction that the themes of my upcoming film are now becoming more important than ever. Millennials seem to have a really difficult time becoming ''grown-ups'', being unable to deal with the reality of everyday life. This manifests in various mental disorders and self-destructive attitudes that seem to pop out of nowhere. The film will explore my generation through a wild, often humorous, and drug-infused mosaic of extremely intimate character portrayals.
Armands Začs is an emerging director, with Youth Eternal marking his first feature film. Known within the industry as an award-winning editor, he has also directed several short films and documentaries. One of his notable works is Mothers and Others, which he co-directed with Liene Linde. This film received acclaim, winning the Latvian National Award Lielais Kristaps and earning him the Best Documentary Director FIPRESCI Award in 2017. Additionally, in 2021, we completed shooting his short film Resistance Is Futile, which is set to premiere at the Riga International Film Festival later this year.
Alise Gelze has been active as a film producer since 2006 and has produced both features and short films. Her most successful productions include Oleg(2019), directed by Juris Kursietis, which had its world premiere at Quinzaine des Réalisateurs; Mother I Love You (2013), directed by Janis Nords, which has garnered over 15 international and national awards, including the Berlinale – Generation KPlus International Jury prize for the Best Film; and Mellow Mud (2016), directed by Renars Vimba, which received the Crystal Bear at Berlinale – Generation 14Plus. Her latest co-production, The Invisible Fight (2023), directed by Rainer Sarnet, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.
The Invisible Flight, 2023 Oleg, 2019 Dogs Don't Wear Pants, 2019 Mellow Mud, 2016
Armands Začs is an emerging director, with Youth Eternal marking his first feature film. Known within the industry as an award-winning editor, he has also directed several short films and documentaries. One of his notable works is Mothers and Others, which he co-directed with Liene Linde. This film received acclaim, winning the Latvian National Award Lielais Kristaps and earning him the Best Documentary Director FIPRESCI Award in 2017. Additionally, in 2021, we completed shooting his short film Resistance Is Futile, which is set to premiere at the Riga International Film Festival later this year.