In a 17th century Swedish Livonian village, constant rain and drunkenness prevail. When a stolen relic sparks witchcraft accusations, an 80-year old self-proclaimed werewolf named the Dog of God arrives with a mysterious gift: The Devil's Balls. This triggers a chain of unexpected events that climaxes in a wild sexual rave party, transforming the village into a frenzy of unleashed desires.
“Our story plot is rooted in the real, well documented historical werewolf trial of Thiess of Kaltenbrun, set in Northern Europe in 1692. However, unlike the typical portrayal of shape-shifting werewolves in popular culture, books and Hollywood, our Baltic or Livonian werewolves, known as 'The Dogs of God' or 'Hounds of God,' are intricately tied to a bygone pagan and shamanistic tradition that persisted until the late 17th century. These werewolves are not merely creatures of horror; they are tricksters, healers and shamans, intricately tied to their ancient heritage. We started to dive into exploring paganism and folk traditions in the Baltic region a lot, when we created our first film The Baltic Tribes | Last Pagans of Europe. This is the logical follow up but with more creative freedom”, Raitis and Lauris Ābele told FNE.
Raitis Abele and Kristele Pudane are producing through Tritone Studio (Latvia) in coproduction with Giovanni Labadessa through Lumiere Lab (USA).
The primary funding for the project was sourced from the EU’s Recovery assistance for cohesion and the territories of Europe (REACT-EU) by the National Film Centre of Latvia, intended to stimulate the growth of Latvian outfits by promoting the work of the country’s film producers, mitigating the consequences of the pandemic and preserving job opportunities.
“In addition to this support, we have also secured self-investment funding from Tritone Studio, coproduction funding from Lumiere Lab (USA) for the postproduction phase, as well as numerous contributions from private investors and supporters across various channels”, Raitis Ābele also said.
The total budget of the film is 720,000 EUR.
Dog of God was filmed in parts from 2022 till 2023 on a blue screen at the Riga Art and Media School (RMMT) studio in Latvia.
The team is currently looking for a sales agent and it is starting to work on distribution and festival strategy.
Production Information:
Producer:
Tritone Studio (Latvia)
Raitis Abele: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducer:
Lumiere Lab (USA)
Credits:
Directors: Raitis Abele, Lauris Abele
Scriptwriters: Ivo Briedis, Raitis Abele, Lauris Abele
Animation artist: Harijs Grundmanis
Main animator: Aigars Gercans
DoP.: Marcis Abele
Set designer: Zanda Zeidaka
Cast: Regnars Vaivars, Jurgis Spulenieks, Agate Krista, Einars Repse, Kristians Karelins, Armands Bergis, Madara Madi Imantsdotire
