The filmas.lv portal has been developed and is maintained by the National Film Centre of Latvia, a state institution of direct administration under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of Latvia, which implements the national policy in the cinema and film industry. One of the responsibilities of the National Film Centre is to promote the availability and distribution of audiovisual heritage in Latvia and around the world. To that end, filmas.lv serves both as a complete database of all films made in Latvia (since the beginning of the 20th century) and as an opportunity to watch many of these films online for free. Its catalogue of publicly available films is periodically updated and supplemented with new material.
Filmas.lv operates mainly in Latvia and in the Latvian language, but since 2019 it has also been organising international online festivals, establishing temporary agreements with film producers and sales agents regarding specific film distribution territories.
Latvian Film Heritage, a new permanent section of filmas.lv available worldwide and demonstrating milestones in Latvian cinema history, opens in November 2020. The films in this collection have been digitally restored and are available to viewers free of charge and with subtitle translations. The content of this collection is also being periodically supplemented as films are restored and prepared for publication.