09/10/2023 - The documentary zooms in on three post-Soviet former convicts deciding to go straight and establishing a debt collection agency

After a long stretch in prison, three post-Soviet former criminals decide to go straight. The debt collection agency they establish is more effective than anyone could have expected, maybe because they use methods learned in the turbulent 1990s to get things done. They take on cases from common men who have been scammed by nefarious businessmen. The three protagonists are Janis, who has started writing a book about his motorcycle club, but sniffing too much cocaine leads him to procrastinate; the eldest one, Victor, who is keeping the whole bunch together while dreaming of retiring in his property in Bulgaria; and Ruslan, who enjoys boxing all day and simply wants to get married. This is the curious premise of Latvian writer-director Ieva Ozolina’s fourth feature, titled Brothers in the Hunt and recently pitched at Malmö’s Nordisk Panorama (20-26 September).

An alumna of the Latvian Academy of Culture and a Psychology student, Ozolina debuted with her graduation film, My Father the Banker (2015), which was awarded the prestigious Lielais Kristaps for Best Debut Film. The picture was also widely distributed and broadcast by networks such as Al Jazeera. Her sophomore feature, Solving My Mother [+see also:
trailer
film profile], revolved around a mother-son relationship and received the IDFA Special Jury Award for First Appearance in 2017. Her third documentary feature, titled My Mother the State (2022), was a moving story about adoption.

Brothers in the Hunt is currently in development. Speaking about the events where the project has been pitched and introduced to the industry, producer Madara Malberga told Cineuropa: “Our first pitching forum was FIPADOC 2023, in January. Ieva [Ozolina]’s previous film was selected for the festival, and we wanted to attend it with our new project. Two weeks after the deadline for submitting projects had passed, we sent it in anyway, and we got selected right away. I have to say it was a surprise because it’s always hard to predict the international response, especially if the film is not – let’s say – related to current affairs. Even more surprising for us was snagging the Lightdox Award at FIPADOC.

“After that, our project was selected by Prague’s East Doc Forum, which brought us the Sunny Side Award in the form of accreditations and a scholarship to attend one of the biggest markets in the region. The project was part of the Balkan Discoveries programme. We believe the mood of this film had the potential to be well received in the Balkans, and this turned out to be true. Besides, one of the characters owns real estate in Bulgaria, which might lead us to shoot there. This was the case for more or less all of the pitching forums where we applied and got selected.

“It has been a busy autumn for us. In September, we took part in the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries [in Riga] and Nordisk Panorama in Sweden, which I find to be one of the most competitive events in the region. However, film professionals told us this is an outstanding and fresh project, but at the same time it is ‘on the edge’. From a producer’s perspective, I can say there is a strong interest from broadcasters, although they are looking forward to seeing some more footage. That being said, Al Jazeera Balkans was the first [network] to provide us with an official letter of interest.”

Malberga tells us it’s the third time the two have worked together. They enjoy exploring “themes on the edge” and engaging in “dilemmas where more questions are raised than answers provided”. The producer underscored Ozolina’s talent at delivering very intimate portraits, which she compares to beautiful “handwriting”. This skill will be particularly useful to tell the story of “three former convicts who try to survive using their skills in order to help regular people”.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a pure character-driven film. At the same time, our goal is to highlight the social bridges between the world we call the ‘European Union’ and those who still need to find a way to adapt,” she adds.

The key crew members include DoPs Marcis Slavinskis and Ansis Landorfs as well as editor Jurgis Locmelis.

Budgeted at €180,000, Brothers in the Hunt is being produced by Riga-based outfit FA Filma, with Laura Olina serving as the line producer. The project has also received backing from the Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia.

Delivery is planned for 2025. The film will be shot in Latvian and Russian, with principal photography happening all around Latvia.