The 9th Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns this November continuing its tradition of bringing the best new films from the Baltic region to New York audiences!
The Saturday evening screening will feature the North American Premiere of Ulya, a biopic of legendary Latvian athlete Uļjana Semjonova, with a film talk with director Viesturs Kairišs. Latvia’s Showcase Film at this year’s NYBFF, the film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and is Latvia’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Soviet Union, Latvia, 1964. On the Paberze farm in the snowy fields in Latgale, teenager Ulya’s height is approaching two meters at an alarming rate, and does not seem to be stopping. So far she has found a safe haven in her village, where she is surrounded by her loving family and helps out with farmwork. But the question gnawing at her parents (and Ulya also) is: is there a place in the world for a giant-sized girl?
When her older sister Tatjana’s fiancé Pavel secretly sends Ulja’s class photo to Karbergs, head coach of the Latvian women’s basketball team TTT, they soon have an answer. Seeing huge potential, Karbergs whisks the girl away to capital Riga, where Ulya hopes to find taller houses and taller people. But on the basketball court, her height sticks out even more – until, with the help of her ill-mannered and foul-mouthed coach, she discovers that the best way to avoid derision is to start playing better.
With hard work comes first success. But as Ulya rises on her path towards stardom, she must deal with the painful realization that others see her as a means for their own ends, and that basketball may not help her quest for a normal life. As an important professional test approaches—the famous Leningrad Spartakiad—Ulya must face her own reality, and choose what she really wants.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Viesturs Kairišs (b. January 30, 1971) is a Latvian film, theater and opera director, whose latter work has been recognized in Latvia and Germany. Viesturs Kairišs’ films and performances have been shown at many European festivals. His film January won the International Narrative Competition at Tribeca 2022.