"The Marché du Film" is one of the most important events in the film industry and the leading meeting place for more than 12,500 film professionals from over 120 countries, where Latvia has been participating for more than 10 years with a national stand organized by LIAA (Investment and Development Agency of Latvia).
This year, our country is represented at the Latvian pavilion by more than 30 Latvian film professionals, for whom this is the most significant event of the year to meet collaboration partners from all over the world. Alise Ģelze, head of the film studio "White Picture" and one of Latvia's leading producers, emphasizes that this market is the starting point for all major film projects. It is here that discussions began for the collaboration with director Sergei Loznitsa, which resulted in the co-production "Two Prosecutors" that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year. It is also the birthplace for many important projects from Germany, Canada, Norway, and other countries that are being filmed in Latvia using the foreign film co-financing program administered by LIAA.
The feature film "Uļa" by Latvian actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots and director Viesturs Kairišs, based on the biography of Latvian basketball player Uļjana Semjonova, will celebrate its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21 in the Un Certain Regard (A Certain Glance) section.