The feature film “Uļa”, created in collaboration between director Viesturs Kairišs and actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, has been selected for the “Un Certain Regard” competition programme at the Cannes Film Festival, according to Kristīne Matīsa, representative of the National Film Centre of Latvia.
This was announced at a press conference presenting the official selection for the festival’s main competition programmes. “Un Certain Regard” is one of the two official competition sections of the Cannes Film Festival.
The feature film “Uļa” is based on Avots’ idea and his desire to portray a story about a teenage girl’s search for identity, inspired by the biography of Latvian basketball player Uļjana Semjonova.
The film is set in Latvia in the late 1960s. The protagonist, Uļa, grows up on a remote rural farm in a Old Believer family, and her height causes her relatives to doubt whether such a tall girl will find a place in the world at all.
When a class photograph ends up in the hands of basketball coaches, Uļa is taken to Riga to join a famous basketball team. However, it is not easy for the girl to believe in herself, accept who she is, and find the right path to transform from a confused teenager into a world-class sports figure.
Head of the National Film Centre Dita Rietuma stated that
a Latvian film has managed to break into the official programme of the world’s most important film festival.
She emphasised that “Uļa”, an original and conceptual work, has succeeded in outperforming thousands of films submitted from around the world to the Cannes Film Festival.
Rietuma noted that the film is a co-production of the three Baltic states and Poland, with significant creative and financial contributions from each country. In her view, “Uļa” will go down in Latvian cinema history as an international achievement of its creative team — director Kairišs, idea author and actor Avots, and producer Guntis Trekteris.
The feature film “Uļa” is produced by the studio Ego Media and created as a co-production of Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Lithuania, with the participation of studios “Allfilm”, “Staron Film”, and “Tremora”.
The creative team includes screenwriters Avots, Līvija Ulmane, and Andris Feldmanis; director Kairišs; cinematographer Wojtek Staroń; production designer Ieva Jurjāne; costume designer Rūta Lečaite; makeup artist Lisi Polumā; editor Armands Začs; and sound director Sīms Skepasts.
The film stars Avots, as well as, among others, Čulpana Hamatova, Alekss Kazanavičs, Artūrs Krūzkops, Alise Dzene, Dārta Cīrule, Madara Viļčuka, Kaspars Dumburs, and Šamils Hamatovs.
The National Film Centre notes that the Latvian premiere of “Uļa” is scheduled for this autumn.
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