Earlier this month, Latvian filmmaker Anna Ansone completed the first phase of shooting for her debut feature, Summer Blues. Described as a contemporary and visually expressive drama, Summer Blues centres on two estranged sisters, Ulla and Dārta, who reunite unexpectedly in Germany. As Ulla finishes an art residency in Rostock, she crosses paths with Dārta, who is pregnant and preparing to return to Latvia with her boyfriend Jonas. Their tense reunion culminates during the Midsummer Night celebrations, the day before their departure. Ulla is faced with a choice: accept that their bond might be broken for good, or embark on a shared 24-hour ferry journey, where the only way out is the sea.

The film stars Elīna Vaska-Botere (Mellow Mud [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Elina Vaska
interview : Renars Vimba
fiche film]), Agnese Budovska (City on the River [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Viestur Kairish
fiche film]) and Lithuanian actor Paulius Markevicius (Drowning Dry [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
interview : Laurynas Bareiša
fiche film]).

Shot on 16 mm film, Summer Blues promises a rich visual language and emotionally resonant storytelling, blending drama with tragicomic undertones. “At the centre of the film are two young women navigating between the need for independence and the ability to trust others,” explains Ansone. “I want to explore the ‘strong woman’ mentality so common in our region – the urge to stay in control while also carrying a deep, human need for intimacy.”

Ansone studied at the National Film School of the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. Her previous shorts Still Life and Can’t Help Myself screened at major festivals, including IFFR, and picked up awards at Oberhausen and Riga.

Behind the camera is DoP Mārtiņš Jurevics (Lotus [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
fiche film]), a frequent collaborator with the helmer. The creative team also includes emerging production designer Estere Betija Grāvere, make-up artist Santa Sandule and producer Alise Ģelze (Youth Eternal, The Exalted [+lire aussi :
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interview : Juris Kursietis
fiche film], Oleg [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Juris Kursietis
fiche film]).

Summer Blues is a Latvian-Lithuanian-German co-production staged by Riga-based studio White Picture, and co-produced by German outfits Filmfaust and Von Anfang Anders with Lithuanian firm Akis Bado. The project received backing from the National Film Centre of Latvia, the State Culture Capital Foundation, the Lithuanian Film Centre and MV Filmförderung.

Filming is taking place across all three countries, with the Latvian leg completed and production set to continue in Lithuania and Germany until the end of August.