The wild and primal qualities of nature are to the fore in Latvian director Ugis Olte debut fiction feature, which playfully uses techniques and ideas from folk horror to reinforce its unsettling mood, while keeping the emphasis on the mythic rather than the manic. There's more than just the suggestion of threat indicated by the axe head that is slowly being consumed by a tree in this mossy, moist corner of Latvia - as we immediately see a kayaker getting into tragic trouble on a river in spate. Beyond the immediate threat to life, there's also the flicker of something else in the water - something whose mystery Olte carefully guards throughout the film.
The incident leaves kayak instructor and guide Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis) acutely aware of the dangers nature can hold, all of which means he's keen to help his social media influencer sister Mara (Elvita Ragovska) and her crew.
The incident leaves kayak instructor and guide Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis) acutely aware of the dangers nature can hold, all of which means he's keen to help his social media influencer sister Mara (Elvita Ragovska) and her crew.
- 11/22/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis). Ugis Olte: 'They say that Christianity was brought here 800 years ago by Germans, but I feel that they haven't succeeded yet because we have a lot of this pagan mindset' Latvian director Ugis Olte makes the shift from documentary to mythical-inflicted fiction with his latest film Upurga - which has its world premiere today at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis) has experienced the danger of the forests at first hand due to a tragic accident and is now a stickler for health and safety. He gets more than he bargains for when he heads out into the woods with a social influencer and a film crew to shoot a vegan sausage advert. The woods hold secrets that tap into both primal urges and fears as well as an eclectic mix of locals including a mute cabbage fermenter and his wife (Ugis Praulins and...
- 11/21/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Titles are split between Coming Soon and Industry Screenings.
Meeting Point - Vilnius, the industry strand of Vilnius International Film Festival, has expanded its selection for its 2021 online event, confirming 32 projects today.
The projects are selected across two strands: 24 are in the Coming Soon pitching selection, consisting of 12 fiction features and 12 documentaries; with a further four of each in the Industry Screenings.
Some 23 countries are represented among the titles, including Maysoon Pachachi’s fiction feature Our River… Our Sky, a co-production between the UK, France, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, in the main Coming Soon strand.
Further sections of...
Meeting Point - Vilnius, the industry strand of Vilnius International Film Festival, has expanded its selection for its 2021 online event, confirming 32 projects today.
The projects are selected across two strands: 24 are in the Coming Soon pitching selection, consisting of 12 fiction features and 12 documentaries; with a further four of each in the Industry Screenings.
Some 23 countries are represented among the titles, including Maysoon Pachachi’s fiction feature Our River… Our Sky, a co-production between the UK, France, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, in the main Coming Soon strand.
Further sections of...
- 3/24/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Ugis Olte and Morten Traavik's film purports to be a documentary, but it must surely be a put-on. Chronicling the events leading up to a concert performed by the Slovenian rock band Laibach in North Korea, the movie is so mind-bogglingly bizarre that one expects Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat to wander in at any time and make clear that it's all just a joke. That everything seen in Liberation Day happens to be true just makes the doc receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York City's Film Forum all the more jaw-dropping.
Laibach was formed in Yugoslavia in 1980...
Laibach was formed in Yugoslavia in 1980...
- 10/17/2017
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For the twenty-first summer in a row, Rooftop Films will be screening some of the best in independent and documentary film in unique outdoor setting all across the New York City. In that time, they have been the first to identify some of the best filmmaking talent in the world, and through their Filmmakers Fund they’ve backed these filmmakers breakout projects.
Past grantees have included Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch,” David Lowery’s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Benh Zeitlin’s “Glory at Sea,” Lucy Walker’s “The Tsunami” and many more.
Rooftop digs up gems and shorts that haven’t been getting a ton of word of mouth and shares them – along with popular festival titles like “The Big Sick”– with their dedicated and artistically curious audience who have come to trust their curation.
IndieWire recently checked in with Rooftop program director Dan Nuxoll to find out what films and filmmakers we should have on our radar for 2017.
What film has fallen through the festival cracks this year?
Certainly “The Genius and the Opera Singer” hasn’t yet gotten nearly the love it deserves, but I hope that changes soon. It’s a powerful dark comic documentary that certainly goes to some emotionally difficult places, but watching it is an undeniably unique experience. We showed it this past Saturday and the audience reaction was even more positive than I anticipated. The crowd loved it, despite some heavy moments. It’s a very well-crafted and expertly-edited film and it’s much more entertaining than one might expect. It’s Vanessa Stockley’s first film and it’s a revelation.
I’m also a big fan of Jeff Unay’s “The Cage Fighter,” which is a beautifully shot and very intimate and personal film that premiered at San Francisco a couple of months ago – it’s a gorgeous doc. Plus Morten Traavik and Ugis Olte’s “Liberation Day” is a boisterous and fascinating film about Laibach, who are a very strange strange but wonderful cult Slovenian band who have a very fascist aesthetic and who somehow convince the North Korean government to allow them to perform there. It’s a very enjoyable provocation.
You were the first one to tip me off to Ana Lily Amirpour and Jonas Carpignano. What up and coming filmmaker should we paying to, but we aren’t?
Dave McCary. His film “Brigsby Bear” premiered at Sundance and got very strong reviews but I don’t think it has yet gotten nearly the attention it deserves. McCary and star Kyle Mooney had a successful sketch comedy group and later joined SNL, so going into the premiere I assumed the film would be funny, but I will admit I didn’t have particularly high expectations otherwise. But I definitely underestimate them–it’s strikingly well executed and the comic and emotional components of the film are expertly balanced.
And beyond that, McCary has a unique touch that you rarely see in comedy films–an ability to dance around the character arcs and emotional trajectory of the characters without ever slipping into maudlin sentimentality and never losing the absurd comic energy. Whenever it seems that the film is about to head someplace conventional, McCary injects a perfectly timed comic turnabout that propels the film forward, but never quite in the direction you expect.
There have been a lot of really good dark indie comedies this year, but “Brigsby” is as funny as any of them while also being full of light and warmth and emotional generosity. It’s a special film and I hope that enough people see it so that it becomes a classic and not just a cult classic.
What’s one film in your lineup that does something new and exciting with the medium?
I was blown away by Amman Abbassi’s “Dayveon.” There have been a lot of independent coming of age films over the years, but few of them manage to balance realism and lyrical artistry quite as wonderfully as this debut feature. Capturing the warmth of an Arkansas summer and the emotional confusion of a thirteen year old struggling after the murder of his older brother, Abbassi establishes himself as a sensitive filmmaker with the ability to evoke a delicate subjective experience.
And on the doc side?
I knew the filmmaker Maple Rasza back in college but hadn’t caught up with him in a while and a few months back a mutual friend tipped me off to his latest project, a really exceptional interactive film he has made with Milton Guillen called “The Maribor Uprising: A Live Participatory Film.” He and Milton shot footage from a series of massive protests in Slovenia following some incidents involving comically flagrant government corruption, and instead of turning it into a traditional documentary they created an interactive project in which Maple leads the audience through the footage. The audience can choose to follow different protestors, decide whether to follow the law or follow the less peaceful demonstrators, and much more. We have long been a champion of live cinema events, like those created by Brent and Sam Green, but this film is an interesting variation on the form. Plus it just happens to be a very timely project. I’m really excited for that show.
Also, Dmitri Kalashnikov’s “The Road Movie” is a very fun comic documentary composed entirely of wild footage captured by hundreds of Russian automobile dash cams. It’s a very weird way to experience the Russian road. I loved every minute of it.
What film introduced you to a world you didn’t know anything about?
We showed Yuri Ancarani’s stunning short film “il Capo” a few years back and ever since I have been excited to see what he would do with a feature film. Sure enough, his new documentary “The Challenge” did not disappoint. He somehow managed to convince secretive Qatari sheikhs to let him film their bizarre and decadent lives as they prepare for the massive falconry competitions they hold deep in the desert. The footage he captured is arresting, hilarious and profound. There is barely a word spoken in the entire film but you will never want to look away. I have never seen anything like it.
You always put shorts front and center at Rooftop and dig into the best international short films. I remember two years ago you talking about how there was an inordinate amount of great shorts coming out of Sweden, what you find this year?
Yeah, a lot of those great Swedish short filmmakers are now doing pretty well. Ruben Ostlund just won Cannes after all, and he was one of the talented Swedes I was talking about back then. And there are some truly wonderful new Swedish shorts this year as well – I am particularly fond of “I Will Always Love You Conny,” by Amanda Kernell. It’s a heartbreaking short.
But my favorite short of the year is a Swedish animation that we gave a grant to called “The Burden” by Niki LIndroth Von Behr. It won Gothenburg, and it’s part of a trend that I have noticed lately of a surge in very, very talented young female animators. Ten years ago an animated shorts program would be packed with films by men, and that is definitely not the case anymore. It’s exciting to see women animators from all over the world coming to the fore. We opened the summer with an animated film by a woman and we will end the summer with one, too, and that isn’t a coincidence.
Rooftop Films Summer Festival runs through August 19th. You can find more information here.
Related stories'Brigsby Bear' Teaser Trailer: Kyle Mooney Introduces You to A Highly Original Summer Indie'The Big Sick,' 'The Bad Batch' and More Announced for Rooftop Films' 2017 Summer Series2017 Cannes Critics' Week Announces Lineup, Including 'Brigsby Bear' and Animation From Iran...
Past grantees have included Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch,” David Lowery’s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Benh Zeitlin’s “Glory at Sea,” Lucy Walker’s “The Tsunami” and many more.
Rooftop digs up gems and shorts that haven’t been getting a ton of word of mouth and shares them – along with popular festival titles like “The Big Sick”– with their dedicated and artistically curious audience who have come to trust their curation.
IndieWire recently checked in with Rooftop program director Dan Nuxoll to find out what films and filmmakers we should have on our radar for 2017.
What film has fallen through the festival cracks this year?
Certainly “The Genius and the Opera Singer” hasn’t yet gotten nearly the love it deserves, but I hope that changes soon. It’s a powerful dark comic documentary that certainly goes to some emotionally difficult places, but watching it is an undeniably unique experience. We showed it this past Saturday and the audience reaction was even more positive than I anticipated. The crowd loved it, despite some heavy moments. It’s a very well-crafted and expertly-edited film and it’s much more entertaining than one might expect. It’s Vanessa Stockley’s first film and it’s a revelation.
I’m also a big fan of Jeff Unay’s “The Cage Fighter,” which is a beautifully shot and very intimate and personal film that premiered at San Francisco a couple of months ago – it’s a gorgeous doc. Plus Morten Traavik and Ugis Olte’s “Liberation Day” is a boisterous and fascinating film about Laibach, who are a very strange strange but wonderful cult Slovenian band who have a very fascist aesthetic and who somehow convince the North Korean government to allow them to perform there. It’s a very enjoyable provocation.
You were the first one to tip me off to Ana Lily Amirpour and Jonas Carpignano. What up and coming filmmaker should we paying to, but we aren’t?
Dave McCary. His film “Brigsby Bear” premiered at Sundance and got very strong reviews but I don’t think it has yet gotten nearly the attention it deserves. McCary and star Kyle Mooney had a successful sketch comedy group and later joined SNL, so going into the premiere I assumed the film would be funny, but I will admit I didn’t have particularly high expectations otherwise. But I definitely underestimate them–it’s strikingly well executed and the comic and emotional components of the film are expertly balanced.
And beyond that, McCary has a unique touch that you rarely see in comedy films–an ability to dance around the character arcs and emotional trajectory of the characters without ever slipping into maudlin sentimentality and never losing the absurd comic energy. Whenever it seems that the film is about to head someplace conventional, McCary injects a perfectly timed comic turnabout that propels the film forward, but never quite in the direction you expect.
There have been a lot of really good dark indie comedies this year, but “Brigsby” is as funny as any of them while also being full of light and warmth and emotional generosity. It’s a special film and I hope that enough people see it so that it becomes a classic and not just a cult classic.
What’s one film in your lineup that does something new and exciting with the medium?
I was blown away by Amman Abbassi’s “Dayveon.” There have been a lot of independent coming of age films over the years, but few of them manage to balance realism and lyrical artistry quite as wonderfully as this debut feature. Capturing the warmth of an Arkansas summer and the emotional confusion of a thirteen year old struggling after the murder of his older brother, Abbassi establishes himself as a sensitive filmmaker with the ability to evoke a delicate subjective experience.
And on the doc side?
I knew the filmmaker Maple Rasza back in college but hadn’t caught up with him in a while and a few months back a mutual friend tipped me off to his latest project, a really exceptional interactive film he has made with Milton Guillen called “The Maribor Uprising: A Live Participatory Film.” He and Milton shot footage from a series of massive protests in Slovenia following some incidents involving comically flagrant government corruption, and instead of turning it into a traditional documentary they created an interactive project in which Maple leads the audience through the footage. The audience can choose to follow different protestors, decide whether to follow the law or follow the less peaceful demonstrators, and much more. We have long been a champion of live cinema events, like those created by Brent and Sam Green, but this film is an interesting variation on the form. Plus it just happens to be a very timely project. I’m really excited for that show.
Also, Dmitri Kalashnikov’s “The Road Movie” is a very fun comic documentary composed entirely of wild footage captured by hundreds of Russian automobile dash cams. It’s a very weird way to experience the Russian road. I loved every minute of it.
What film introduced you to a world you didn’t know anything about?
We showed Yuri Ancarani’s stunning short film “il Capo” a few years back and ever since I have been excited to see what he would do with a feature film. Sure enough, his new documentary “The Challenge” did not disappoint. He somehow managed to convince secretive Qatari sheikhs to let him film their bizarre and decadent lives as they prepare for the massive falconry competitions they hold deep in the desert. The footage he captured is arresting, hilarious and profound. There is barely a word spoken in the entire film but you will never want to look away. I have never seen anything like it.
You always put shorts front and center at Rooftop and dig into the best international short films. I remember two years ago you talking about how there was an inordinate amount of great shorts coming out of Sweden, what you find this year?
Yeah, a lot of those great Swedish short filmmakers are now doing pretty well. Ruben Ostlund just won Cannes after all, and he was one of the talented Swedes I was talking about back then. And there are some truly wonderful new Swedish shorts this year as well – I am particularly fond of “I Will Always Love You Conny,” by Amanda Kernell. It’s a heartbreaking short.
But my favorite short of the year is a Swedish animation that we gave a grant to called “The Burden” by Niki LIndroth Von Behr. It won Gothenburg, and it’s part of a trend that I have noticed lately of a surge in very, very talented young female animators. Ten years ago an animated shorts program would be packed with films by men, and that is definitely not the case anymore. It’s exciting to see women animators from all over the world coming to the fore. We opened the summer with an animated film by a woman and we will end the summer with one, too, and that isn’t a coincidence.
Rooftop Films Summer Festival runs through August 19th. You can find more information here.
Related stories'Brigsby Bear' Teaser Trailer: Kyle Mooney Introduces You to A Highly Original Summer Indie'The Big Sick,' 'The Bad Batch' and More Announced for Rooftop Films' 2017 Summer Series2017 Cannes Critics' Week Announces Lineup, Including 'Brigsby Bear' and Animation From Iran...
- 6/23/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Author: Marie Ferrer
Morten Traavik has organised several art exchanges with North Korea, but this time he may have agreed to more than he could handle. Laibach, a cult band for 35 years is invited to do a concert in Pyongyang on North Korea’s Liberation Day so the people of North Korea can be exposed to a different type of music. In Morten Traavik and Ugis Olte’s documentary film, Liberation Day, we follow the band’s unique experience in North Korea.
What does it takes to prepare for a concert in an unfamiliar place and culture?
Laibach, a provocative band that used the totalitarian aesthetics and has been blamed for the most part, isn’t exactly given a warm welcome during their so-called welcome dinner. The Slovenian band must work with the North Korean organisers and they are met with challenge after challenge. From concert content to set-up issues and misunderstandings,...
Morten Traavik has organised several art exchanges with North Korea, but this time he may have agreed to more than he could handle. Laibach, a cult band for 35 years is invited to do a concert in Pyongyang on North Korea’s Liberation Day so the people of North Korea can be exposed to a different type of music. In Morten Traavik and Ugis Olte’s documentary film, Liberation Day, we follow the band’s unique experience in North Korea.
What does it takes to prepare for a concert in an unfamiliar place and culture?
Laibach, a provocative band that used the totalitarian aesthetics and has been blamed for the most part, isn’t exactly given a warm welcome during their so-called welcome dinner. The Slovenian band must work with the North Korean organisers and they are met with challenge after challenge. From concert content to set-up issues and misunderstandings,...
- 4/20/2017
- by Marie Ferrer
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Documentary company closes sales on 78/52, Dries, and Citizen Jane: Battle For The City.
UK documentary specialists Dogwoof has racked up a series of deals on its European Film Market slate.
Alexandre O. Phillippe’s 78/52, which Dogwoof acquired in Sundance, has gone to Scandinavia (Non Stop Entertainment) and Spain (A Contracorriente). The film is a close-up look at Alfred Hitchock’s iconic shower scene from Psycho and had its Efm market premiere on Friday (Feb 10).
Reiner Holzemer’s Dries, an intimate portrait of the fashion designer Dries Van Noten, has gone to: Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edo), Belgium (Dalton); Australia and New Zealand (Madman); with an in-flight world deal (excluding United Kingdom and Australia) signed with Jaguar.
Matt Tynauer’s Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, the story of journalist and activist Jane Jacobs and her battles with New York town planner Robert Moses, has sold to: Hong Kong (Edko); Commonwealth of Independent States (Beat Films); Italy...
UK documentary specialists Dogwoof has racked up a series of deals on its European Film Market slate.
Alexandre O. Phillippe’s 78/52, which Dogwoof acquired in Sundance, has gone to Scandinavia (Non Stop Entertainment) and Spain (A Contracorriente). The film is a close-up look at Alfred Hitchock’s iconic shower scene from Psycho and had its Efm market premiere on Friday (Feb 10).
Reiner Holzemer’s Dries, an intimate portrait of the fashion designer Dries Van Noten, has gone to: Japan (New Select), Hong Kong (Edo), Belgium (Dalton); Australia and New Zealand (Madman); with an in-flight world deal (excluding United Kingdom and Australia) signed with Jaguar.
Matt Tynauer’s Citizen Jane: Battle For The City, the story of journalist and activist Jane Jacobs and her battles with New York town planner Robert Moses, has sold to: Hong Kong (Edko); Commonwealth of Independent States (Beat Films); Italy...
- 2/11/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Author: Marie Ferrer
The Göteborg Film Festival (Giff) is in full swing! Celebrating its 40th year, it remains the leading film festival in Scandinavia. Bringing films from all over the world including many World and Nordic premieres to Sweden’s second largest city, the festival’s main goal continues to be introducing Nordic film to the world.
In 2016, the festival had more than 130,000 visitors offering 450 films from 84 different countries. During the film festival, visitors have the opportunity to see films that they otherwise wouldn’t see in the big cinemas. From categories such as festival favorites to films nominated for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary, Giff not only offers the festivalgoer a variety of films, but also seminars on film, art and music along with other festival activities.
New to the festival is a new Filmfönstret or ‘Movie window’ at Nk’s storefront, a new venue for talks,...
The Göteborg Film Festival (Giff) is in full swing! Celebrating its 40th year, it remains the leading film festival in Scandinavia. Bringing films from all over the world including many World and Nordic premieres to Sweden’s second largest city, the festival’s main goal continues to be introducing Nordic film to the world.
In 2016, the festival had more than 130,000 visitors offering 450 films from 84 different countries. During the film festival, visitors have the opportunity to see films that they otherwise wouldn’t see in the big cinemas. From categories such as festival favorites to films nominated for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary, Giff not only offers the festivalgoer a variety of films, but also seminars on film, art and music along with other festival activities.
New to the festival is a new Filmfönstret or ‘Movie window’ at Nk’s storefront, a new venue for talks,...
- 1/31/2017
- by Marie Ferrer
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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