Tuesday, October 14, 2025 // Sitges, Spain — Cartuna has acquired North American distribution rights to Dog of God, the acclaimed animated feature from Latvian filmmakers Lauris Ābele and Raitis Ābele, following its screening at the Sitges Film Festival. The company will release the film theatrically in 2026.
Dog of God is a dark, hallucinatory period horror-fantasy set in a 17th-century Livonian village, where religious fervor, accusation, and otherworldly phenomena converge. The film follows villagers as a missing relic, whispered witchcraft, and a self-proclaimed werewolf called the “Dog of God” upend their fragile order. Rendered in meticulously crafted rotoscope animation, the film blends the grotesque, the poetic, and the absurd with folkloric dread.
Dog of God was written and directed by Lauris Ābele and Raitis Ābele, with co-writing by Ivo Briedis and Harijs Grundmanis, and produced by Kristele Pudane, Raitis Ābele, and Giovanni Labadessa. The film has been selected as Latvia’s official submission for the 2026 Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, and has been shortlisted by the European Film Awards for Best Animated Feature. Having premiered at the Tribeca Festival and screened at more than 30 festivals worldwide—including the Fantasia International Film Festival and London's FrightFest—the film has drawn praise for pushing the boundaries of adult animation, described by Variety as “a cult favorite amongst enthusiasts of dark fantasy, graphic novels and genre-stretching absurdist cinema, à la Yorgos Lanthimos.”
“Dog of God is one of those films that defies categorization—it’s part parable, part fever dream,” said James Belfer, Founder and CEO of Cartuna. “It’s bold, unsettling, and darkly funny in all the best ways. Lauris and Raitis have such a singular vision and we’re thrilled to champion it to audiences who crave something truly new in animation.”
Director Raitis Abele was equally excited by the partnership, proclaiming, “The distributors I talked to were impressed and afraid. Cartuna was no exception.”
Brothers Raitis and Lauris Ābele are Latvian directors, producers, editors, and screenwriters, often collaborating with their youngest brother Marcis Ābele, who serves as director of photography. Known for blending arthouse sensibilities with genre filmmaking and a strain of dark Baltic mysticism, the Ābeles have developed a distinctive voice within European independent cinema.
Dog of God marks Cartuna’s latest acquisition in its growing slate of daring, artist-driven animated, live-action, and hybrid features. The company, founded by James and Adam Belfer, has become a champion for unconventional voices in animation, producing and distributing projects that push the boundaries of form, tone, and technology. Acquisitions this year include Boys Go to Jupiter, Dead Lover, and Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark. Upcoming releases and additional acquisitions will be announced later this year.
The deal was negotiated by Justyna Koronkiewicz of Media Move on behalf of the filmmakers and James Belfer for Cartuna.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Brothers Raitis and Lauris Ābele are directors, producers, editors, and screenwriters, often collaborating with their youngest brother Marcis Ābele, who serves as director of photography. Lauris studied philosophy before earning a Master’s in Audiovisual Arts (Film Directing) at the Latvian Academy of Culture, while Raitis studied at the New York Film Academy and is pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology. The brothers began their creative journey in the DIY skateboarding video scene before moving into music videos and narrative work, gaining international recognition when their short Castratus the Boar won the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival in 2015. They later co-directed the docudrama Baltic Tribes: Last Pagans of Europe and their debut feature Troubled Minds, which premiered in the First Feature Competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Also active musicians, they compose and perform in the alternative rock bands Soundarcade and Sonntags Legion. Dog of God marks their first co-directed animated feature—a rotoscope production shot by Marcis and edited like live action—further extending the brothers’ cinematic language and worldview into bold, unexpected territory.
ABOUT CARTUNA
Founded by James Belfer and Adam Belfer, Cartuna is a Brooklyn-based distribution and production company focused on animation, DIY, and cult films. Cartuna is distributing Boys Go to Jupiter, Dead Lover, and Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark, and produced the Blu-ray releases of Hundreds of Beavers, Adam Green's Aladdin, Nova Seed, and Sundance Special Jury Prize winner Nuts! Upcoming projects by Cartuna and the Belfers include recent Sundance premieres OBEX and By Design, Reveries: The Mind Prison, and the animated features Moonfish and Silence Sometimes. Past producing credits include Strawberry Mansion, Sylvio, Berlinale Silver Bear winner Prince Avalanche, Compliance, and Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy. They made their Broadway debut investing in the Tony-winning, record-breaking Broadway comedy Oh, Mary! www.cartuna.com/
