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Screening at Kai Cinema: "Ulya"

Screening of the drama biopic about Uljana Semjonova, followed by a talk with Liisi Põllumaa

Event artwork: Screening at Kai Cinema: "Ulya"

In short

A screening of the drama biopic Ulya about the youth of Latvian basketball legend Uljana Semjonova and her first steps toward the top of the game. The film follows teenage Ulya as she struggles with her height, family expectations, and the choice between an ordinary life and becoming the best basketball player in the world. The screening is followed by a talk with the film’s make-up artist, Liisi Põllumaa.

Summary by Eventeeka from the organizer’s announcement. The original text follows below.

20 November 2026, Friday · 18:00–19:42 · From €6 · EN

Kai Art Center, Peetri tänav 12, 10415 Tallinn, Harju maakond ↗

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Genre: drama, biopic, sports

Running time: 1 h 42 min

Country: Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania 2026

Director: Viesturs Kairišs

Screenplay: Kārlis Arnolds Avots, Livia Ulman, Andris Feldmanis

Cast: Kārlis Arnolds Avots, Chulpan Khamatova, Aleksas Kazanavičius, Shamil Khamatov, Kaspars Dumburs, Artūrs Krūzkops, Alise Dzene

Language: Latvian, Russian

Subtitles: Estonian, English

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

Ulya tells the story of the youth of legendary Latvian basketball player Uljana Semjonova and the beginning of her path to the top of the world.

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 both 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?

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

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, opened this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and has been selected as Latvia’s submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The screenplay was written by lead actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, who plays Ulya, together with Estonian screenwriting duo Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis (Compartment No. 6).

The music is by Marko Veisson and Ramo Teder, better known as Puuluup.

Distributor: Estonian Theatrical Distribution OÜ

We also invite everyone to visit the solo exhibition of acclaimed artist Jane Jin Kaisen, “Saar mere taga”, now open at Kai Art Center. This mesmerising journey of seven films leads into the depths of Korean traditions and history. It is the first time Kaisen’s work is shown in the Baltics.

When visiting both the exhibition and a film screening on the same day, a combo ticket is available for €15 (reduced €10). The gallery is open until 6 pm, so with a combo ticket we kindly ask you to visit the exhibition before the screening begins.

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