Latvia Nominates Basketball Drama Ulya for 2027 Oscar

Latvia has selected the basketball drama Ulya as its official entry for the 2027 Academy Awards international feature film category.

Directed by Viesturs Kairišs, the film has drawn approximately 105,000 viewers in domestic cinemas since its release earlier this year. It currently stands as the highest-grossing Latvian production of 2026 and ranks second among all releases in the country. Its attendance figures have surpassed those of The Odyssey and Minions & Monsters, while it trails only Spider-Man: Brand New Day in the overall national box office.

The narrative follows Uljana Semjonova, a legendary athlete who won two Olympic titles, three world championships, 15 Soviet national championships, and 15 European Champions Cups. Semjonova became the first woman from outside the United States to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The film stars Kārlis Arnolds Avots as Semjonova, tracing her transition from a remote Old Believer community in the countryside to professional basketball in Riga. The story addresses the public scrutiny of her exceptional height and the demands of elite competition.

Ulya received its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. The production is a co-production involving companies from Latvia, Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania. New Mountain Films has acquired the North American distribution rights. Triin Tramberg, the artistic director of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, noted that the project demonstrates how Baltic cooperation and external partnerships allow ambitious films to reach wider international audiences. The film will open the 30th edition of that festival in Estonia this Friday.

The project originated from Avots's desire to portray Semjonova on stage. Kairišs, who previously collaborated with Avots on the film January, saw cinematic potential in the concept. Kairišs stated that financing partners questioned whether casting a male actor in the role would result in caricature, but he maintained his commitment to the approach. Avots co-wrote the screenplay with Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis. Wojciech Staroń served as cinematographer, and Armands Zacs handled the editing.

Kairišs described his primary creative focus as conveying the inner experience of his subject. He and Avots cited Werner Herzog as a parallel influence, while the director referenced Ingmar Bergman's Persona as an aesthetic guide for Staroń. Avots lived near Semjonova in Riga and developed a personal relationship with her before her death in January. The film concludes with a photograph of the two.

This selection marks Kairišs's third appearance in the Oscar competition for Latvia, following The Chronicles of Melanie in 2017 and January in 2022. The choice also follows the 2025 Academy Awards, where Gints Zilbalodis's animated feature Flow won the corresponding award.