Sisters tell the story of 13 year old Anastasija and 8 year old Diāna, who receive the possibility of adoption in the USA with different attitudes. Anastasija wishes to find their biological mother and stay in Latvia, while Diāna is eager to travel to the USA and start her life with a new family. The law does not allow the sisters to be separated through adoption, therefore Anastasija will have to make a difficult decision, which will impact the fate of both sisters.
Linda Olte spent two years researching the topic, which involved talking to kids at orphanages. Their real stories are weaved in the script.
The film is produced by Matīss Kaža and Dace Siatkovska through Latvia’s Deep Sea Studios and Una Celma through Latvia’s Fenixfilm in coproduction with Debora Nischler and Wilfried Gufler through Italy’s Albolina Film.
The shooting takes place in Riga and nearby the city. The production period in Latvia runs from 4 April to 31 May, with 30 shooting days, while three shooting days are planned for Italy, South Tirol, at the beginning of June 2021.
The film has an international cast including non-professional actors Emma Skirmante, Gerda Aljēna and Katrīna Krēsliņa, alongside Iveta Pole, Elita Kļaviņa and Indra Briķe (Latvia), Neil McGarry (Italy), Victoria Mayers-Grey (Austria) and Bella Alexandras (Portugal).
The production is supported by the National Film Centre of Latvia with 550,000 EUR, IDM South Tyrol with 190,000 EUR, and Eurimages with 79,000 EUR. The total budget is approximately 1 m EUR.
The expected release date is spring 2022.
Production information:
Producers:
Deep Sea Studios (Latvia)
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Fenixfilm (Latvia)
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Coproducer:
Albolina Film (Italy)
Credits:
Director: Linda Olte
Screenwriter: Linda Olte
DoP: Aleksandrs Grebņevs
Editor: TBD
Production designer:Laura Dišlere
Costume designer: Sieglinde Michaeler
Make-up artist: Beata Rjabovska
Original music: TBD
Cast: Emma Skirmante, Gerda Aljēna, Katrīna Krēsliņa, Iveta Pole, Elita Kļaviņa, Indra Briķe, Neil McGarry, Victoria Mayers-Grey, Bella Alexandras
