Fiction film “Ulya“, created in collaboration between director Viestur Kairish and an actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, has been selected at the 79th Cannes Film Festival for the competition programme Un Certain Regard.
Actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots admits: “When this idea was born to me eight years ago, as an excited student, I was running around looking for a director who would undertake to carry it out, and I am very happy that this film was made directly with Viestur Kairish. And from the very beginning, I had a quiet but ironclad belief that story of Ulya would touch hearts and get to where it needs to get. This film completely changed me, I’m extremely grateful to everyone who responded to it, and I’m happy that the film about Ulya is making it to the Olympics of the cinema!”
Dita Rietuma, head of the National Film Centre of Latvia, comments: “I am truly thrilled and proud that Latvian film has managed to break into the official programme of the world’s most important film festival. The feature film Ulya, which is an original and conceptual work, has managed to compete with thousands of films from all over the world that are submitted to the Cannes Film Festival. Also significant in the modern history of Latvian cinema is the fact that after only a one-year pause, Latvian film returns to the Cannes competition program – in 2024, the now world-famous animated film Flow / Straume conquered Cannes. It should be emphasized that the film is a co-production of the three Baltic countries and Poland, in which the creative and financial contribution of each country is significant. However, Ulya will enter the history of Latvian cinema as a unique international achievement of the film’s creative group – director Viestur Kairish, author of the idea and actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, producer Gunts Trekters. And also being bright achievement for entire Latvian cinema!”
Film was produced by studio Ego Media and, and is a a co-production between Latvia, Estonia (Allfilm), Poland (Staron Film) and Lithuania (Tremora) Financialy supported by the National Film Centre of Latvia, Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT), Latvian Television (LTV), Estonian Film Institute, Polish Film Institute, Lithuanian Film Centre, Riga City Council, Augšdaugava Municipality, Daugavpils State City Municipality, Latvijas Finieris
