14/01/2026 - The film will be showcased in the Focus: The Future Is NOW section, with screenings scheduled on 30 January and 5 February

The Latvian-Lithuanian feature Lotus [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], directed by Signe Birkova, has been selected for the Focus: The Future Is NOW section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), where it will screen as a Dutch premiere during this year’s edition (30 January–9 February).

A 117-minute “ahistorical” costume film set in an imaginary version of Latvia in 1919, Lotus unfolds shortly after the country’s independence from the Russian Empire. The story follows Alice von Trota, a Baltic-German countess who returns to her family manor intending to sell the property inherited from her late father, only to find herself drawn into a world of occult rituals, secret cults and artistic subversion. Encouraged by a cinephile she encounters on the estate, Alice discovers cinema as a means of emancipation and reinvention, becoming—within the film’s parallel universe—a pioneering figure of early Latvian silent cinema.

Blending horror, fantasy and melodrama with irony and absurdist humour, Lotus deliberately destabilises historical realism. As noted by Rotterdam programmer Olaf Möller, the film approaches filmmaking as “visual witchcraft – 24 spells per second,” freely mixing genre tropes, mysticism and cinephilic references to early cinema and classic world cinema, while treating history as a speculative playground rather than a fixed narrative.

The film stars Severija Janušauskaitė in the lead role, supported by a large ensemble cast including Rēzija Kalniņa, Baiba Broka, Indra Briķe, Vilis Daudziņš, Mārtiņš Kalita, Andis Strods, Regnārs Vaivars, Iveta Pole and Jana Čivžele, among others. Lotus is performed in Latvian, German, French and Russian.

The film is produced by Dominiks Jarmakovičs and Roberts Vinovskis for Studio Locomotive, and co-produced by Lithuanian production company Studio Uljana Kim, led by Uljana Kim. The project received support from the National Film Centre of Latvia and Eurimages.

Behind the camera, Birkova also signs the screenplay. She is joined by cinematographer Mārtiņš Jurevics, production designer Mārtiņš Straupe, editor Andris Grants, sound designer Saulius Urbanavičius, costume designer Jurate Silakaktiņa and make-up artist Ilze Trumpe. The original score is composed by Paulius Kilbauskas and Justinas Staras.

Lotus had its world premiere at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in November 2024, where it screened in the First Feature Competition. Following its national theatrical premiere in Latvia in April 2025, the film went on to be recognised at the Lithuanian National Film Awards Silver Crane, scooping the prize for Best Minority Co-Production and receiving nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Janušauskaitė) and Best Original Music.

At IFFR, Lotus will screen twice: on 30 January at Pathé 6, followed by an in-person Q&A, and again on 5 February at KINO 4. The film’s international rights are handled by One Eyed Films.