Arizona Joe

Arizona Joe takes us behind the scenes in a Soviet Latvian film studio where the crew is tasked with the near-impossible challenge of recreating a believable America on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

A young man in search of his lost father. An actress willing to do anything to become a movie star. A director in the making of his final film. They meet under the roof of a Soviet-era film studio in the 1980s, where the latest blockbuster called “Arizona Joe” enters production. As the crew attempts to create an on-screen America on the other side of the iron curtain, our characters make choices between creativity and conformity, attempting to fulfill their dreams amidst a totalitarian regime.

Matīss Kaža (1995) is a writer, director, and producer who grew up in Riga, Latvia, and got his BFA in Film & TV from Tisch School of the Arts in New York. He debuted with the documentary One Ticket Please (2017) which screened in Krakow, Tempo, Beldocs, Goteborg, and other festivals around the world. In 2022, Matīss directed Neon Spring (2022) which was screened in Edinburgh, IFFI Goa, and multiple other festivals around the world. Arizona Joe will be his first TV series project.

Dace Siatkovska (1980) is a producer with more than ten years of experience working as a film and commercial producer, producing documentary and fiction films. Her films include Baltic Tribes (2018) by Raitis and Lauris Ābele, and Neon Spring (2022) by Matīss Kaža. Most recently, she produced Sisters (2022) by Linda Olte which won 2 awards at the Warsaw Film Festival and multiple awards at other international film festivals. Arizona Joe will be her first TV series as a producer.