Candyfloss, Coatis and a Unicycle. Documentary, Latvia, 2014
Director: Līga Gaisa
The visually colourful film Candyfloss, Coatis and a Unicycle, by director Līga Gaisa and director of photography Gatis Grīnbergs, is about the residents of Riga Circus and about what happens outside the circus ring before and after they meet the audience under the circus dome. We’ve all laughed at the clowns, been scared of the lions and eaten candyfloss. But are we aware that many circus artists live there as well – in the rooms of the circus ‘hotel’ on the first floor, where food is prepared, where the washing is done and where magical tricks are tried out behind the scenes?
For more than 125 years now, in spite of the dreary, unrenovated premises and the all-pervasive smell of the animals, foreign and Latvian artists submit to a special routine, in order to conjure up the magic of the circus.
