Baltic Event Co-Production Market

Hysterias

Country
Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia
Language
Latvian
Genre
drama
Project Status
Development
Synopsis

On her first trip abroad, 20-year-old Alice is forced to confront her fears of life, the world, and other people. With an approaching theatre premiere, Miru struggles with terrible self-blame and desperately tries to prove herself as an irreplaceable director’s assistant, thus sacrificing the time with her son and herself. When fatigue and routine enters Rita’s marriage, she decides to adopt six-year-old Amelia, in the hope of regaining her husband’s love. Psychophysicist Minka meets the charismatic narcissist Magrit and falls madly in love with him but he becomes an obstacle to her academic career. The death of an eccentric friend of Agate, a resident of a remote rural village, pushes Agate to start living differently. By trying to meet the expectations of others and themselves, all five women – a student, an eager assistant, an ideal housewife, an ambitious scientist, and a lonely country woman – begin to realise their true desires.

More info about the project

Directors’ note:

In 2018, five friends and like-minded people who regularly collaborate on joint projects started discussing contemporary Latvian literature and found that several books recently published by Latvian female writers were vividly cinematographic and had an intriguing potential to bring them to screen. That is how the idea for Hysterias was born – a feature film that would bring together five female directors of the same generation to film five pieces of short prose by five Latvian female writers, thus trying to capture the female gaze directed at itself.

Director's bio:

Ieva Norvele graduated from the Baltic Film and Media School, later spent several years working in film and TV productions in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. After moving back to Latvia, Ieva studied film directing at the Latvian Academy of Culture. A couple of student shorts written and directed by Ieva have been nominated for Latvia’s national film awards. Currently, she has finished working on a Slovak-Hungarian dance feature film Bunker as a co-writer and is now focused on developing a couple of her own shorts.

Adriana Roze is a new generation director with an impressive experience. She has made several documentaries as well as music videos, TV shows, and commercials. The best-known of her works are the award-winning documentary short Gentlemen of Riga, awarded by the National Film Award Lielais Kristaps, and Born in Riga. Talent Formula, nominated for the award. She graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture with a master's degree in film directing. Her diploma film Collective. EU and her study work Glass Lining have been nominated for the film award Lielais Kristaps in the student film category.

Liene Linde is a Latvian director and film critic. She graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture with the short film Fake Me a Happy New Year (2013), which won prizes at several international film festivals and was awarded a Lielais Kristaps, the Latvian national film award.

Alise Zariņa studied advertising in Paris and audiovisual media in Tallinn. She writes about cinema and works in advertising. In 2019, she directed her feature debut film Nearby.

Marta Elīna Martinsone (1986) is a Latvian publicist, screenwriter, theatre and film director. Graduated from R the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia. Studied at the Faculty of Art History and Theory, University of Essex. In 2014, she graduated from the Latvian Academy of Culture and obtained a master's degree in theatre art. She has performed at the Dirty Deal Teatro, Gertrudes Street Theatre, Art Centre Totaldobže, and the Academy of Culture Theatre House Zirgu Pasts. She was a screenwriter for the films 1906 and Nearby. For the film Nearby she won Lielais Kristaps Award for the Best Screenwriter (together with Alise Zariņa). In August 2021, she released her debut film Lame'os.

Company profile:

Founded in 2011, Tasse Film is an administrative and creative production team led by Aija Bērziņa. Company’s first feature-length production Mellow Mud (directed by Renars Vimba) held its world premiere at Berlin International Film Festival 2016, where it received Crystal Bear for the Best Film in section Generation 14 Plus. Juris Kursietis’ Oleg was selected for Director’s Fortnight Cannes 2019.

Original title
Histērijas
Budget
845482 €
Financed
15715 €
Looking for
Co-producers
Director
Ieva Norvele, Adriana Roze, Liene Linde, Alise Zariņa, Marta Elīna Martinsone
Writer
Ieva Norvele, Adriana Roze, Liene Linde, Marta Elīna Martinsone, Alise Zariņa
Producer
Aija Bērziņa
Production
Tasse Film
Contact name
Elīna Losa
Contact email
elina@tasse.lv
Contact address
Tasse Film, Kr. Barona Str, LV-1011, Riga, Latvia
Contact company
Tasse Film
Producer
Aija Bērziņa

Aija Berzina has graduated European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark, and the Latvian Academy of Culture in Riga. Her first film as producer was the daring documentary by Ivars Zviedris – Documentarian (VFS Films, 2012) which was awarded Latvia’s national award for the best film and premiered at Dok Leipzig. Her next – and the first from her company TASSE FILM – Renars Vimba feature fiction Mellow Mud (2016). Premiered at the Berlinale, it won a Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation 14plus program. Her latest productions include titles like Oleg by Juris Kursietis and Finnish co-production Dogs don’t wear pants both selected for Quinzaine, Cannes 2019. Since 2014 Aija is also first chair of the Film Council in Latvia, and since 2013 – president of the Film Producers Association of Latvia. In 2014 Aija founded the Riga International Film Festival.

Production company
Tasse Film

Founded in 2011, Tasse Film is mainly focused on producing high quality fiction films, working with both established directors as well as discovering new talents and bringing them to international market. Company’s latest titles include films like Oleg by Latvian director Juris Kursietis (Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, France) and Finnish coproduction Dogs Don’t Wear Pants both of which premiered in the Director’s Fortnight programme in Cannes 2019.