Box Office Momentum: 'Ulya' Tops Latvia Records Before Festival Premiere

Latvia's official entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, 'Ulya,' has finalized deals with distributors in 12 distinct territories. The film is set to open the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, marking a key step in its commercial rollout ahead of the awards season.

B-Rated International, the film's international sales agent, confirmed the recent sales. North American rights went to New Mountain Films, while France was acquired by Destiny. Italy's distribution is handled by Invisible Carpet, and Slovakia by ASFK. Five Star Distribution took the former Yugoslavia region, and Hea Film secured Estonia. Additional territories include Lithuania via GPI, the Middle East and North Africa through Teleview, Finland with Cinema Orion, Poland via 1989, and Brazil through Belas Arte.

Director Viesturs Kairišs stated that the film is currently the second most-watched movie in Latvian history. He described the domestic performance as a blockbuster, noting that the response in Latvia matched the strong reception the film received at the Cannes, Rome, and Los Angeles screenings. Kairišs said no previous film of his had generated such a reaction from audiences.

The production is a black-and-white drama inspired by the life of Ulyana Semjonova, a basketball player who stood seven feet tall and died in January 2026. The project was produced by Ego Media, Allfilm, Staroń Film, and Tremora. Kairišs rejected the label of a conventional biopic, explaining that he aimed to create an arthouse narrative focused on the character's isolation rather than her athletic career.

Casting began with Kārlis Arnolds Avots, who had wanted to portray Semjonova for years. Kairišs recalled that the idea gained momentum when he overheard Avots discussing the concept with the director of photography. The director said the team used unconventional camera techniques, including slightly out-of-focus shots, to capture the protagonist's inner perspective. Semjonova approved the project, a fact Kairišs highlighted by showing a photograph of her with Avots at the film's conclusion.

Kairišs linked the film's commercial success to a contemporary cultural pressure for conformity. He argued that audiences are responding to the character's embrace of difference. The director said viewers should trust the traits that make them feel unique, describing that acceptance as the central theme of the narrative.