Filming in Riga
Riga City Council operates its own cash rebate on top of the national scheme, and the two can be combined.
25%
cash rebate on eligible Latvian expenses, top rate
Riga Film Fund · 2025
57
foreign film projects supported to date
Riga Economic Profile 2026 · 2025
€40m+
production spend attracted to Latvia
Riga Economic Profile 2026 · 2025
The rebate, exactly
The Riga Film Fund is a Riga City Council co-financing programme for international productions shot in Riga and Latvia. After filming completes, eligible expenses incurred in Latvia qualify for a rebate at one of two rates:
| Rate | Condition |
|---|---|
| 25% | The storyline is set in Riga, or Riga features noticeably in the story with at least 20% screen time, and the film is at least partly shot within Riga |
| 20% | Film shooting takes place on Latvian territory |
Eligible expenses include film-related transport, location and technical equipment rental, catering, accommodation, public facilities, construction facilities, and artistic and administrative services.
Combining with the national scheme
The Riga Film Fund can be combined with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia's national co-financing programme, administered through the National Film Centre. The National Film Centre states a support intensity of 30% of eligible costs for that scheme, with combined public support capped so that it does not exceed 50% of the film's total expenses in Latvia. Estimated national co-financing available is €15.2 million across 2025-2027 - €4.85 million in 2025, €5.07 million in 2026 and €5.29 million in 2027.
One caution, and we would rather raise it than let you discover it in an application. Published sources describe the national scheme's support intensity variously as 30%, as 20-30% depending on criteria, and as 25% in older material. Confirm the current rate directly with the National Film Centre before you build it into a financing plan.
Riga Film Fund, National Film Centre · 2025
Eligibility
Feature-length fiction, animation and documentary. Minimum total production budget of €711,436 for feature and animation films, €142,287 for documentaries. At least 50% of total financing confirmed at the point of application. An agreement with a Latvian production company, with costs incurred through it. Services provided by individuals or entities registered in Latvia. Filming must not have started before the application is submitted. Decisions are typically made within one month, with an open deadline for Riga Film Fund submissions.
Track record and locations
The Riga Film Fund has supported 57 foreign film projects, providing more than €7.5 million in co-financing and attracting more than €40 million in production expenditure to Latvia. Latvia's production capability was independently validated in 2025: Gints Zilbalodis's animated feature Flow won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, reached more than 300,000 viewers in Latvian cinemas and over 3.5 million worldwide. Local producers are increasingly moving from service provision into co-production.
What Riga offers a production
Riga's historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site with Gothic, Baroque, Classicist, Modernist and Art Nouveau architecture in close proximity - roughly 40% of buildings in the centre are Art Nouveau. Wooden architecture districts survive in Ķīpsala, Grīziņkalns, Maskavas Forštate and Kalnciema Quarter, rare in modern Europe. The city is compact, 304 km², with the airport 10 km from the centre and direct flights to more than 90 destinations. Baltic Pine Films, working from Latvia since 2008, has serviced productions for Warner Bros, BBC, Discovery, NBC, ZDF and Channel 4.
Costs
Riga's average gross monthly wage was €2,028 in Q3 2025 against €2,451 in Tallinn for 2025. Accommodation runs €50-110 per person per night in three-star hotels; a restaurant meal €25-60; taxi €7-20.
CSB LV, Statistics Estonia, Riga Economic Profile 2026 · 2025
What we don't publish
Crew day rates. Equipment rental cards. Studio and stage capacity. Permit timelines for street closures and public locations. Historical approval rates for the fund. These are the numbers that decide a production budget and none is in a citable public source. The Riga Film Fund's project manager is the correct first call, and productions in Latvia are handled through a local production company that will price the schedule properly.
NOT PUBLISHED
Next step
Tell us the function, the target headcount and the timeline. We reply within one business day and send the relevant cost and talent data within three working days. No charge at any stage.
Placeholder contact for demonstration purposes.
Sources
Riga Film Fund via liveriga.com · National Film Centre of Latvia · Riga Economic Profile 2026 · Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia · Statistics Estonia
Last checked: 17 August 2026