We caught up with Latvian filmmaker Viesturs Kairišs to talk about Ulya, his biopic inspired by the life of basketball icon Uļjana Semjonova, selected in the 79th Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard section. Played by actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, who also initiated the project, Ulya becomes both an intimate coming-of-age story and a poetic journey through identity, difference and belonging, beyond what others project onto her. In our conversation, Kairišs spoke about his fascination with unknown artistic territories, and the challenge of shaping a female character through a male performer.