The 60-minute drama, Pizzas, tells the story of two teenagers who work in a pizzeria but have big dreams, including studying at Oxford, until one evening when they turn their lives upside down, dooming their future plans.
The main characters are played by non-actors Pauls Iklavs and Reinis Stabins who were chosen for the roles because of their unusual hobby of freeriding. “These are people that ski everywhere,” Pakalnina said. “Because of this we shot them in documentary Snow Crazy, and when I started to think about actors for Pizzas, I looked at them and thought – I should try them.”
Music is by the Latvian rap musician Gacho. Pakalnina worked with her usual collaborators: set designer Jurgis Krasons, cinematographer Uldis Jancis and sound designer Anrijs Krenbergs.
Pizzas was shot in 21 days in September 2011 and an additional 2 days in January 2012. The budget was 243,700 EUR, with support from the National Film Centre (www.latfilm.lv) and MEDIA. Postproduction, excluding the sound, was done at the Estonian studio Digitaalne Sputnik which also co-produces and distributes the film in Estonia.
Pizzas will be theatrically released on 14 December 2012 in Estonia and on 21 December in Latvia.
Pakalnina is now working on two documentaries. The first one, 42, is almost finished and will have its premiere in spring 2013. The film follows Pakalnina as she runs the marathon, showing the
42-kilometer race from an insider’s point of view. The film was shot with five cameras, including one on the head of the director and another on the back of her daughter who ran the race with her.
The second film, Chimney, recently completed filming. Editing will begin in January. It is a story is set in the Latvian countryside where a large factory chimney is a prominent landmark and looks at the people people living around it. Jancis was also DoP on this film.
Production Information:
Hargla
Valtaiku 19, Riga LV1029, Latvia
Ph. +371 29235618
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Co-producer: Kaur Kallas, Digitaalne Sputnik (Estonia)
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Credits:
Director, Scriptwriter, Producer: Laila Pakalnina
DoP: Uldis Jancis
Set Design: Jurgis Krasons
Sound: Anrijs Krenbergs
Cast: Pauls Iklavs, Reinis Stabins
