Film production growing in Latvia while publishing shrinks slightly

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Despite the influence of last year's centenary celebrations, in 2018 fewer books and brochures were published in Latvia than in the preceding year, according to data published by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia on August 5.

In 2018, a total of 2,161 different titles were published, down from 2,185 in 2017, and in fact the lowest number of titles since 2,083 recorded in 2012.

In absolute terms, the number of copies published was also down. 2018 saw 2.14 million copies rolling off the presses, down from 2.46 million in 2017. Indeed, this was the smallest output in terms of copies since the restoration of independence. 

However, books and brochures must have got slightly thicker as the total number of printed sheet impressions rose from 31 million in 2017 to 32 million in 2018.

There was a drop-off in the number of titles translated to Latvian from English (282 titles in 2018 compared with 360 in 2017). This was the lowest number of English-Latvian translations since 1996. At the same time, the number of titles translated from Russian to Latvian shrank markedly from 64 in 2017 to just 43 in 2018, again the lowest number since 1996.

It was a different picture in the resurgent Latvian film industry. In 2018, 48 Latvian films were produced, up from 45 in 2017 and 42 in 2016 though still behind the high of 53 films produced in 2015.

Of 2018's film output, 10 movies were classed as features, 30 as documentaries, 7 as short films and one as an animated cartoon.

 

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