'Ulya' Director Dives Into His Third Latvian Oscar Contender

Viesturs Kairišs also shares Herzog and Bergman inspirations for the film, opening Tallinn and starring Kārlis Arnolds Avots as Uljana Semjonova, the first non-U.S. Woman in the Basketball Hall of Fame. ‘Ulya’ Director Dives Into His Third Latvian Oscar Contender, Which Stars a Rising Actor as a Female Basketball Legend and Became a “Blockbuster”.

‘Ulya’ Courtesy of Ego Media Share on Facebook Share on X Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Latvia made Oscar history in 2025 when Gints Zilbalodis ‘ Flow won the best animated feature award. Two years later, the country has selected a very different movie to represent it at the Oscars 2027. The Baltic country picked Ulya from director Viesturs Kairišs ( January), which stars up-and-coming Latvian actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots and world-premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, as its international best feature film Oscar contender.

Inspired by the life of legendary Latvian basketball player Uljana Semjonova, a two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion, the black-and-white Ulya follows its protagonist from an isolated rural Old Believer community into the fiercely competitive world of professional basketball. There, she must navigate both the attention drawn by her extraordinary height and the demands of elite sport. Related Stories Movies BAFTA Breakthrough Ted Evans Shares What Sign Language Taught Him About Film – and What’s Next After ‘Retreat’ Movies ‘The Incomer’ Attracted Domhnall Gleeson and Moby and Got Its Creator on the BAFTA Breakthrough List.

Semjonova ended up winning the Soviet Union’s national championship and the European Champions Cup 15 times each, the Olympic Gold medal with the USSR in 1976 and 1980, and she became the first non-U.S. On Friday, Ulya will open the 30th edition of Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival ( PÖFF).