In Latvia, the name Ulya is a bit like the sporting equivalent of Bono in many parts of the world. No last name needed for people to know who you are talking about! If you are not in the know yet, it is the name of legendary Latvian basketball player Uļjana “Ulya” Semjonova. Now, Ulya, a biographical drama directed by Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs that is inspired by her life, is set to world premiere in the Cannes Film Festival‘s Un Certain Regard section, bringing her story to the world.
The film follows an athlete’s journey from a rural life and feeling awkward about her unusual height and confused about her identity to basketball stardom. Latvian actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots – you may have seen him in January or Soviet Jeans – portrays the athlete and co-wrote the script with Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis. The cinematography was handled by Wojtek Staron.
The producer is Guntis Trekteris of Ego Media, with Ieva Norviliene, Pille Rünk and Malgorzata Staronserving as co-producers. B-Rated International is handling sales.
“Her unusual height troubles her family, who wonder if there’s a place for her in the world,” reads a synopsis for Ulya, which starts in 1964, meaning Soviet Union-era Latvia. The fact that she grows up in an Old Believers community, which follows old religious practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before reforms in the mid-17th century, also puts her outside of society’s norms. The Old Believers have sometimes been compared to the Amish. But when basketball coaches see her class photo, she is called to Latvia’s capital, Riga, to join a famous basketball team, but she continues to struggle. “Accepting herself, she faces a choice: hide or aim to be the best basketball player in the world.”
THR can now reveal two exclusive clips from the black-and-white film that provide sneak peeks at the story of someone coming to realize that their life will never be quite “normal.”
The first exclusive clip from Ulya takes us right into a training session for the basketball team. Whether you have good or bad memories of sports during your school time, this scene drives home that size may not be all that matters. And it shows just how different the young woman looks and feels. Running is not an option! Watch the first clip here.
The second exclusive clip from the movie shines a spotlight on some of the future sports star’s religious upbringing in an Old Believer family. Will she choose basketball as her new faith? Check out the second exclusive scene from Ulya here.
