Splendid Palace building

The inspiration for the black and white video projection is the first sound film shown at a cinema in the Baltic States; Singing Fool in 1928 at the Splendid Palace.
The Fool is a popular character in folklore and literature of many nations. We know the Fool or Jester from Tarot cards. The Fool is an adventurer and a dreamer for whom life is like a dream and he thinks that he just needs to wake up. But the dream turns into a nightmare. Just like at a carnival, astonishing events and vivid images follow each other along the Fool’s surreal, subconscious journey: game on the stage, peculiar twins, demons, a giant eye and an escape into the forest. The Fool opens his eyes, but is each awakening not just the start of another dream?

Project concept: Astra Zoldnere
Project developer: Lauska Cultural management centre
Project financed by Rīga City Council and Rīgas nami