Feature Film "Ulya"

The film “Ulya” is a visually and emotionally powerful story about identity, growing up, and the search for belonging. It takes place in Latvia in the late 1960s. Ulya is a teenage Old Believer whose height is approaching two meters. When her class photo lands in the hands of basketball coaches, Ulya is taken to Riga to join a famous basketball team. Struggling with her height and identity, she trains hard, but soon realizes that she must make one of the most important choices of her life: to hide or to become the best basketball player in the world.

The film “Ulya”, directed by Viesturs Kairišs, was conceived by actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, who also plays the lead role. Based on the biography of the legendary Latvian basketball player Uļjana Semjonova, the film had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.