Latvian Film “Ulya” Heads to International Festivals After Success at Home
Viesturs Kairišs’ feature film “Ulya” about basketball player Uljana Semjonova will screen at festivals in Europe and the US in October and November. It will open the Lübeck and Tallinn festivals, while 90,000 people have seen it in Latvia.
“Uļa” (Ulya), a feature film by Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs about the legendary basketball player Uljana Semjonova, is moving on to international film festivals after its success in Latvian cinemas. In October and November it will be shown in Poland, Luxembourg, Italy, Norway, Germany and Estonia, as well as other European countries and the United States. In Latvia it is this autumn’s most-watched film, with 90,000 people having seen it since 16 September.
Festival schedule
The film’s journey abroad began in spring, when its world premiere took place in the Cannes Film Festival’s “Un Certain Regard” competition programme. In August, “Uļa” was selected as Latvia’s candidate for the Oscar in the Best International Feature category.
In October, the film was or will be shown at these festivals:
- 10 October – Warsaw International Film Festival, Poland;
- 19 October – CinEast, Luxembourg;
- 21 October – Rome Film Festival, Italy;
- 22 October – Baltiske Filmdager, Oslo, Norway.
At the Rome festival, director Kairišs and lead actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots will present the film in person. After the premiere, “Uļa” will go on general release in Italian cinemas, and the director will attend special screenings in Florence, Bologna and Milan.
In November the film will open two European festivals: Nordische Filmtage Lübeck in Germany on 4 November and the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia on 6 November. PÖFF is an A-category festival; the status is granted by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and places Tallinn in the same league as Cannes, Berlin and Venice. In November the film will also be shown in New York, Seville, London, Paris and elsewhere.
Creative team
“Uļa” is a co-production of Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania, made at the studio Ego Media in collaboration with Allfilm, Staron Film and Tremora. The screenplay was written by Avots, Līvija Ulmane and Andris Feldmanis; the producer is Guntis Trekteris, the cinematographer is Polish director of photography Wojciech Staroń, and the production design is by Ieva Jurjāne. Avots is also a co-author of the project’s original idea.
“We made a very personal story, but it turned out to be a story about all of us. Everyone has felt ‘too different’ at least once, just like her,” says Kairišs.
