Baltic Event Works in Progress
Lex Julia
Julia travels to her new friend Anna's isolated island summer house, where she recognises Anna's husband as the man who raped her on a date fifteen years earlier.
Julia, in her early thirties, travels to her new friend Anna's island villa for a late-summer weekend. When Anna introduces her husband, JP, Julia recognises him as the man who raped her on a date fifteen years earlier. Both Julia and JP keep their past acquaintance a secret from Anna, who grows increasingly uneasy about the tension between her husband and her new friend. Over the weekend, the simmering conflicts between the trio intensify.
Main country of production
Finland
Subjects:
friendship, harrassment, MeToo, women, abuse, sexual abuse
Filmmaker based in Berlin, originally from Finland. Presenting the work-in-progress of my second feature film, the suspense drama Lex Julia (Finland/Estonia/Poland/Sweden 2026) at Baltic Event 2025.
Merja Ritola (b. 1970) is a seasoned Finnish film producer with over two decades of experience. She began in production, serving as Head of Production on "Iron Sky", before moving into producing fiction features, documentaries, TV series, and shorts. A graduate of EAVE and EWA workshops, Ritola has led Greenlit Productions since 2017, securing Creative Europe Slate funding in 2023. Her recent works include the feature doc "Maija Isola – Master of Colour and Form" (2021) and the short doc "The Robin That Never Returned" (Tampere FF 2025). She is currently producing "Lex Julia", "The Seal Mother", and developing new fiction and documentary features. Ritola is a member of EFA, Filmiaura, Risto Jarva Association, and EWA.
Marianne Ostrat, Estonian film producer and founder of Alexandra Film and Fork Film, works in documentary, fiction and animation. Her films have screened at Venice, San Sebastian, Karlovy Vary, and SXSW. SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD by Anna Hints won the Sundance Directing Award, European Film Award, Icelandic Film Award, 4 EFTAs, IDA Award, and Cinema Eye Honours for Best Cinematography, earning Ostrat a nomination for the Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) Award.