Director Kristiāns Riekstiņš's debut film «Everyone Needs Money» now in cinemas

In early October, Latvian cinemas began screening «Visiem vajag naudu» («Everyone Needs Money»), the debut feature film by director Kristiāns Riekstiņš. The filmmakers themselves describe the work as a robbery comedy, a genre that promises to blend light humor with the tension of a crime plot.

Speaking on the Latvian Radio programme «Kultūras rondo», Riekstiņš explained the core idea behind the film. He said he wanted to explore a feeling many people recognize: the moment when a personal dream seems to be gathering dust, while everyone else around you appears to be doing better in life. Choosing this quiet, often unspoken experience as the film's emotional foundation, according to the director, gave rise to a story built within the framework of comedy and the heist genre.

Since «Visiem vajag naudu» is Riekstiņš's first full-length film, its release marks the cinematic debut of a new Latvian director. The film has now been put before a wider audience in cinemas, and public reaction will show whether this particular combination of personal feeling and genre comedy has worked. Riekstiņš shared further insight into the film's origins and concept in his appearance on «Kultūras rondo».