NEON SPRING (NEONA PAVASARIS)
drama Latvia, 105', TBR 2021
Director: Matīss Kaža
Writer: Marija Luīze Meļķe, Matīss Kaža
Producers: Dace Siatkovska, Una Celma, Matīss Kaža
Cinematography: Aleksandrs Grebņevs
Music: Toms Auniņš
Production Design: Rūdolfs Baltiņš
Costume Design: Laura Jančauska, Krišjānis Elviks
Editor: Paula Popmane
Sound Design: Aleksandrs Vaicahovskis
Starring: Marija Luīze Meļķe, Grēta Trušiņa, Gerds Lapoška, Agnese Rukšāne, Jānis Skutelis
Laine’s (20) parents separate – her father becomes emotionally estranged and her brother Bruno (10) is having trouble at school, but she isn’t ready to take up mother’s duties. On a drugged-up rave, Laine befriends seasoned partygoer Gunda (21). Their relationship suddenly and unexpectedly becomes intimate. The neon spring of Riga’s techno scene blossoms, and Laine begins to question her sexuality and identity at a time when her family is falling apart. She finds her escape in the drugs, clubs, festivals and afterparties as she struggles to hold together her dissolving relationship with reality.
Financial Support: State Culture Capital Fund of Latvia, Riga City Department of Culture, National Film Centre of Latvia.
World Sales: Magnolia Pictures International
Awards: Baltic Event Works-in-Progress Award, Tallinn Black Nights 2020