The Most Famous
FILM DIRECTORS from Latvia
This page contains a list of the greatest Latvian Film Directors. The pantheon dataset contains 2,041 Film Directors, 3 of which were born in Latvia. This makes Latvia the birth place of the 48th most number of Film Directors behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Philippines.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Latvian Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Latvian Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Sergei Eisenstein (1898 - 1948)
With an HPI of 75.53, Sergei Eisenstein is the most famous Latvian Film Director. His biography has been translated into 117 different languages on wikipedia.
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1898 – 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is noted in particular for his silent films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1928), as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1945/1958). In its 2012 decennial poll, the magazine Sight & Sound named his Battleship Potemkin the 11th-greatest film of all time.
2. Eduard Tisse (1897 - 1961)
With an HPI of 50.25, Eduard Tisse is the 2nd most famous Latvian Film Director. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Eduard Kazimirovich Tisse (Russian: Эдуа́рд Казими́рович Тиссэ́; Latvian: Eduards Tisē; 13 April 1897 – 18 November 1961) was a Soviet cinematographer.
3. Rosa von Praunheim (b. 1942)
With an HPI of 50.07, Rosa von Praunheim is the 3rd most famous Latvian Film Director. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous queer activists in the German-speaking world. A pioneer of Queer Cinema and gay activist from the very beginning, von Praunheim was a key co-founder of the modern lesbian and gay movement in West Germany and Switzerland. He was an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex. His films center on queer-related themes and strong female characters, are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. They have featured such personalities as Keith Haring, Larry Kramer, Diamanda Galás, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Judith Malina, Jeff Stryker, Jayne County, Divine, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf and a row of Warhol superstars. In over 50 years, von Praunheim has made more than 150 films (short and feature-length films). His works influenced the development of LGBTQ+ movements worldwide.
4. Fridrikh Ermler (1898 - 1967)
With an HPI of 46.72, Fridrikh Ermler is the 4th most famous Latvian Film Director. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Fridrikh Markovich Ermler (13 May 1898 – 12 July 1967) was a Soviet film director, actor, and screenwriter. He was a four-time recipient of the Stalin Prize (in 1941, twice in 1946, and in 1951). After studying pharmacology, he joined the Czarist army in 1917 and soon took part in the October Revolution on the side of the Bolshevists. Captured and tortured by the White army, he only became a full party member at the end of the Civil War. From 1923 to 1924 Ermler studied at the Cinema Academy. In 1932 he took part in creating one of the first Soviet talkies – the movie Vstrechny (The Counterplan). He also was one of the founders of the Creative Association KEM (together with E. Ioganson). In 1929-1931 Ermler studied at the Communist Academy and wrote for the newspaper Kino. He also became the chairman of the Russian Association of Revolutionary Filmmakers. In 1940 he became the director of the Lenfilm studio. Between 1941 and 1944, he worked at the Central United Film Studio of Feature Films (TsOKS) in Alma-Ata (now Kazakhfilm Film Studio). He died on 12 July 1967, in Komarovo. A memorial plaque was placed on the house in Leningrad where he lived from 1930 to 1962.
5. Nikolai Ekk (1902 - 1976)
With an HPI of 42.36, Nikolai Ekk is the 5th most famous Latvian Film Director. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Nikolai Vladimirovich Ekk (Russian: Николай Владимирович Экк; 14 June 1902 – 14 July 1976) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. "Ekk" was in fact a pseudonym; his real surname was Ivakin (Russian: Ивакин). Born in Riga, he studied acting and directing in the theater of Vsevolod Meyerhold. He directed six feature films between 1929 and 1967. Among them was the first Soviet sound film Road to Life and the first Soviet color motion picture film The Nightingale.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Latvian film directors born between 1897 and 1942. Of these 5, 1 (20.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Latvian film directors include Rosa von Praunheim. The most famous deceased Latvian film directors include Sergei Eisenstein, Eduard Tisse, and Fridrikh Ermler. As of April 2024, 2 new Latvian film directors have been added to Pantheon including Eduard Tisse, and Nikolai Ekk.
Living Latvian Film Directors
Go to all RankingsDeceased Latvian Film Directors
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Sergei Eisenstein
1898 - 1948
HPI: 75.53
Eduard Tisse
1897 - 1961
HPI: 50.25
Fridrikh Ermler
1898 - 1967
HPI: 46.72
Nikolai Ekk
1902 - 1976
HPI: 42.36
Newly Added Latvian Film Directors (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Film Directors were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Film Directors since 1700.
