Special screening of “Ulya” at Kai Art Center, followed by a talk

Drama and biopic about the youth of the legendary Latvian basketball player Uljana Semjonova. Running time 1 h 42 min. Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, 2026. Director Viesturs Kairišs. Screenplay by Kārlis Arnolds Avots, Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis. Cast: Kārlis Arnolds Avots, Chulpan Khamatova, Aleksas Kazanavičius, Shamil Khamatov, Kaspars Dumburs, Artūrs Krūzkops, Alise Dzene. Language: Latvian and Russian. Subtitles: Estonian and English.

The screening is followed by a talk with the film’s make-up artist, Liisi Põllumaa.

Soviet Union, Latvia, 1964. In a remote village in Latgale, teenage Ulya grows up in an Old Believer family, nearly two metres tall. Her extraordinary height worries her family: is there a place in the world for someone like her? When her class photo reaches basketball coaches, she is invited to Riga to play for a legendary women’s team.

Struggling with her height and her sense of self, Ulya trains hard but soon realises that basketball may not fulfil her greatest dream: to live an ordinary life. Fleeing back to her home village, she discovers that on the court and at home people see only her height and strength. Slowly making peace with herself, Ulya arrives at a decisive question: should she hide from the stares of others, or try to become the best basketball player in the world?

Semjonova went on to become a two-time Olympic champion, a three-time world champion and a ten-time European champion. In her 18-year career with the national team she never lost an international game.

The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, opened this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and was selected as Latvia’s entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Time and place: 29 November 2026, 18:15, Kai Art Center, Peetri 12, Tallinn.