This is the third film in Baumane’s planned trilogy, following Rocks in My Pockets, produced by Rocks in My Pockets LLC, USA in coproduction with Studio Locomotive, and My Love Affair with Marriage, by Studio Locomotive, Luxembourg's Antevita Films and The Marriage Project LLC from the USA.
In 1971, when Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union, a poor upbeat family of four (an engineer, a schoolteacher and their two daughters) move into a large house that they cannot afford to buy. The father's brother lends them money on the condition that the family starts an underground business of growing and selling rose cultivars to gardeners and collectors in Russia. United by the purpose to pay for the house and keep it, the family toils in their garden and greenhouse. In the process they become quite wealthy, but with the wealth come arrogance and a sense of invincibility. As the Soviet Union starts to fall apart, the family also unravels.
“One overcast morning in the midst of the pandemic, I was looking outside the kitchen window of my studio when a familiar feeling hit me: the world-as-we-know-it was ending. This was familiar to me. In the 1990’s I had lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union. Standing in my kitchen I thought I should revisit what my Latvian family and I experienced as the Soviet Union crumbled, throwing Latvia into social turmoil. I believe that animation is the best medium to tell this complicated story, where each point of view or character’s inner thoughts can be represented in different visual styles”, Signe Baumane told FNE.
The cast includes Gracie Lawrence, Emma Kenney and Stephen Lang, as well as 38 top Latvian and New York theatre actors in supporting roles.
Dominiks Jarmakovičs and Roberts Vinovskis are producing through Latvian Studio Locomotive in coproduction with Signe Baumane and Sturgis Warner through the American company The Marriage Project, and Leonardo Barrile through the Italian Samarcanda Film.
The total budget is 2.5 m EUR.
The project is funded by the National Film Centre of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia and New York State Film Tax Credits. The project is also being developed through individual donations, as well as donations made through private foundations. The producers also intend to apply for the Eurimages Co-production Support.
The film will employ various techniques, including stop motion, traditional animation and CGI 3D.
The production is set to start in a couple of months and the film is set to be released in 2029.
Production Information:
Producer:
Studio Locomotive (Latvia)
Dominiks Jarmakovičs: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducers:
The Marriage Project (USA)
Samarcanda Film (Italy)
Credits:
Director: Signe Baumane
Screenwriter: Signe Baumane
Animation director: Signe Baumane
Composer: Kristian Sensini
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Dagmara Dominczyk, Gracie Lawrence, Emma Kenney, Stephen Lang, Matthew Modine
