Latvian films that were submitted to "Academy Award for Best International Feature Film," this year have been evaluated. The National Expert Committee has agreed to nominate the already acclaimed A-class feature film "Ulya" as Latvia's candidate, the latest film by director Viesturs Kairišs, with Kārlis Arnolds Avots being the co-author and portraying the main role.
Published: 18.08.2026.
The films submitted for evaluation were discussed by Selection Committee established by the NFC and approved by the Academy – producers experienced in international cooperation Alise Ģelze and Matīss Kaža, film critic Kristīne Simsone, producer and director Raitis Ābele, and National Film Centre director Dita Rietuma. This year, Latvian film producers had submitted two feature-length films for the committee's evaluation – director Dzintars Dreibergs' feature film Escape Net (Kultfilma) and from the director Viesturs Kairišs' feature film Ulya (Ego Media).
After thoroughly evaluating the quality of films created with different aesthetics, the national expert panel decided to nominate the feature film Ulya, which had its world premiere with serious reviews from European film critics in May at the Cannes Film Festival competition Un Certain Regard, and it is one of the most important international events in recent Latvian cinema life for Latvia's submission to the Academy Awards. Actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots has received international recognition for his role in this film, winning the Best Actor award at the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Latvian film Uļa has already been selected as the opening film at several A-class festivals in the fall, and such a background is also very significant in the context of the Academy Awards – it confirms the film's potential to be noticed and to reach not only a local but also an international audience.
The film will be screened Latvian cinemas in mid-September – with its national premiere on 16.09. The film is a co-production of Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Lithuania, produced by Ego Media studio in collaboration with the studios Allfilm (Estonia), Staron Film (Poland), and Tremora (Lithuania). The film's screenplay authors are Kārlis Arnolds Avots, Līvija Ulmane, and Andris Feldmanis; director Viesturs Kairišs; producer Guntis Trekteris; the film was shot by Polish cinematographer Wojciech Staroń; and the film's production designer is Ieva Jurjāne. The contribution of the lead actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots is also special – he is not only one of the film's scriptwriters but also a co-author of the project's concept.
The first Latvian film to be submitted for a U.S. Academy Award was The Child of a Man (1991, directed by Jānis Streičs). Latvia returned to the Oscars competition with the film Defenders of Riga (submitted in 2008 and directed by Aigars Grauba). Since then, further 15 films have been selected by the expert commission, the most recent of which is January (2022, directed by Viesturs Kairišs), My Freedom (2023, Ilze Kunga-Melgaile), Flow (2024, Gints Zilbalodis) and Dog of God (2025, Raitis Ābele, Lauris Ābele).