The film is based on Latvian writer Nora Ikstena’s 2015 novel, which looks at three generations of women after the end of WWII, and which has already been translated into 20 languages (including English, Russian, Lithuanian). The first shooting period will run until the beginning of October in Riga and the district of Limbaži.
The main events of Soviet Milk take place in the 1970s and 1980s. A young and promising doctor comes into conflict with the totalitarian Soviet regime and loses everything – her career, love for life and maternal instinct, denying her new-born daughter mother’s milk. While growing up, her daughter needs to find her own standing and place in life, living together with a mother who is disappointed in life.
“While reading the book I had the feeling that I wished to turn it into a film. I was very much drawn to the atmosphere of the Soviet era, which reminded me of my own childhood and youth. But the main aspect that caught my eye was the representation of the relationship between a human being and the official power, how this power breaks the life of the main character – an outstanding scientist and gynaecologist. Another theme important to me is the relationship between mother and daughter, which weaves through the film like a red thread connecting three generations,” Kolmane told FNE.
The film is intended as an international coproduction, but there aren’t any confirmed partners yet. Apart from the Latvian production team, the film has a Lithuanian cameraman Rolandas Leonavičius and production designer Algirdas Garbačiauskas.
Ināra Kolmane’s previous film Bille (2018), produced by Film Studio Deviņi (Latvia), Masterfilm (Czech Republic), Magic Lab (Czech Republic) and Studija 2 (Lithuania), got wide international recognition at various festivals, received The Best National Film Award, and the broadcasting rights were sold to HBO Europe.
Soviet Milk is produced by Jānis Juhņēvičs and Marta Romanova-Jēkabsone at Film Studio Deviņi (Latvia). The project is supported by the National Film Centre of Latvia with 658,400 EUR. The estimated budget is 1,121,984 EUR. The film has also received Creative Europe MEDIA funding for its development.
The expected release date is autumn of 2022.
Production information:
Film Studio Deviņi (Latvia)
Credits:
Director: Ināra Kolmane
Screenwriter: Arvis Kolmanis
DoP: Rolandas Leonavičius
Production Designer: Algirdas Garbačiauskas
Costume designer: Evija Džonsone
Make-up artist: Gunda Zvirbule
Cast: Maija Doveika, Rūta Kronberga, Indra Briķe, Juris Lisners, Elīna Vāne
Producers: Jānis Juhņēvičs, Marta Romanova-Jēkabsone
Executive Producer: Ieva Majore
