Latvian-American artist Vija Celmins dedicated her life to looking, watching and framing the world around her. Since the 1960s, she has continually refined her sharp sense of observation, capturing natural phenomena and forms of matter with extraordinary precision and meticulous detail. Her work invites viewers to look more deeply and intensely, prompting a profound reflection on the act of seeing and its sense of time.

Leading a very solitary life, Celmins rarely allowed anyone in her inner circle. At the age of 86, still carrying a hint of suspicion, the artist agreed to open the doors of her studio to filmmakers couple Bêka & Lemoine. Vija is a vibrant, witty, and heartfelt film, told in the present tense that captures the unique chemistry of their week-long encounter. The filmmakers dedicate themselves to gaining her trust—a process that becomes an ongoing challenge and negotiation through the film, but ultimately gives rise to a joyful sense of complicity. What emerges is a truly singular portrait of Vija Celmins, as she reflects on her lifelong practice, opening not only the drawers of her archives but also those of her most intimate memories. Vija is a journey through forms, images and thoughts that shaped her distinctive sensibility.

REVIEWS
“A subtly luminous film that mirrors Vija Celmins’ own sensibility—observant, restrained, and profoundly human. With patience and delicacy, Bêka & Lemoine capture the rare opening of a private world, where silence speaks as eloquently as memory, and trust unfolds like one of Celmins’ own finely drawn surfaces.” - BeauxArts
“Wonderful!” - Exibart
“An incredibly moving and intimate portrait from two of the best directors today!” - Artline
“A stroke of genius!” - Faz
“Joyful and liberating, Bêka & Lemoine transform their encounter with Vija Celmins into an act of pure cinematic grace.” - NZZ Sonntag
“A luminous cinematic journey through the forms, images, and thoughts that define the sensitivity of Vija Celmins” - Riehener Zeitung
“Bêka & Lemoine have invented an original cinematic genre, emerging from their deeply narrative approach to architecture” - taz
“Far from the conventions of the artist documentary, Vija offers an intimate encounter with one of the most elusive figures in contemporary art. Through patience, humour and a finely attuned cinematic gaze, Bêka & Lemoine turn the delicate process of gaining an artist’s trust into a film as revealing as it is unexpected.” Artribune

Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine
Miracoli, France/Switzerland, 2025
82 min