Preview screening at Kai Cinema: “Ulja”

Genre: drama, biographical film, sports film
Running time: 1 hr 42 min
Director: Viesturš Kairišs
Cast: Karlis Arnolds Avots, Chulpan Khamatova, Aleksas Kazanavičius, Artūrs Krūzkops, Kaspars Dumburs
Countries: Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania, 2026
Language: Latvian
Subtitles: Estonian, English

On 29.11, the film’s makeup artist Liisi Põllumaa will be present.

“Ulja” tells the story of the youth of legendary Latvian basketball player Uļjana Semjonova and the beginning of her journey to the top of the world.

Soviet Union, Latvia, 1964. In the countryside of Latgale, Uļja is growing up in an Old Believer family. She is a teenager whose height is approaching two metres. Her extraordinary growth worries her family. Is there even a place in the world for someone like her? When Uļja’s class photo falls into the hands of basketball coaches, she is invited to Riga to play for a legendary women’s team. Struggling with her height and her search for identity, Uļja devotes herself to training, but soon realises that basketball may not fulfil her greatest dream: to live an ordinary life. When she flees to her home village, she discovers that both on the court and at home, people see her first and foremost for her height and strength. Gradually making peace with herself, Uļja reaches a decisive question: should she remain in the shadow of other people’s gaze, or try to become the world’s best basketball player?

Uljana Semjonova became a two-time Olympic champion, three-time world champion and ten-time European champion. During her 18-year national-team career, she did not lose a single international match.

Distributor: Estonian Theatrical Distribution OÜ

We also invite everyone to visit the solo exhibition “Island Behind the Sea” by acclaimed artist Jane Jin Kaisen, currently on view at Kai Art Center. This captivating journey, comprising seven films, takes viewers deep into Korean traditions and history. Kaisen’s work is being shown in the Baltics for the first time.

A combo ticket for visiting the exhibition and attending the cinema screening on the same day costs €15 (concession ticket €10). The gallery is open until 18:00, so combo-ticket holders are asked to visit the exhibition before the screening begins.