As part of the programme “Foreign Films in Latvia” organised by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), a new big-budget feature film Boundless (Den grænseløse) by the Danish production company Nordisk Film and SIA Munchhausen Productions has been made. The film will premiere on 31 January in Copenhagen and will play in cinemas in Denmark starting on 1 February.
“We are honoured that producers from many European countries use Latvia as a shooting location for their films. Boundless received EUR 364 000 in co-financing, but the total budget was many times higher than that. So such projects not only raise Latvia’s international prestige but also provide additional income to the state,” explains Iveta Strupkāja, Acting Director General at LIAA.
The shooting took place between September and October 2022. The project involved a team of almost 100 film industry professionals from Latvia and Denmark, 20 Danish actors and more than 700 extras sourced in Latvia. The shooting took place in Kuldīga and Riga – at the National Library of Latvia, the Ministry of Finance building in Old Riga, the Riga Film Studio and many of the historical industrial areas in Sarkandaugava, where Bornholm Island will be staged in the film.
Nordisk Film is one of the oldest and most prestigious film studios in the world. The film itself is a screen adaptation of the bestselling detective novel about Department Q by the popular Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen, featuring a powerhouse Danish cast – the lead role is played by one of the biggest Danish stars, Ulrich Thomsen. The cast also features Sofie Torp, Afshin Firouzi, Joachim Fjelstrup, Søren Malling, Helle Fagralid, Rasmus Bjerg, Peter Mygind and Hedda Stiernstedt.
“Our Danish colleagues have shown a great deal of respect to those working in the Latvian film industry. Every day, 60–70 specialists from Latvia operating in various fields worked side by side with their Danish colleagues at all stages of the filming – including those in Bornholm and Copenhagen, not just in Latvia. Special mention should be made of the contribution of local artists to the film’s creative team – executive producer Madara Kalniņa, make-up artist Aija Beata Rjabovska, Latvian artist Aldis Meinerts, costume designer Līga Krāsone, sound designer Mārtiņš Rozentāls, lighting specialist Pēteris Skujiņš and photographer Armands Virbulis,” says Elīna Jozauska, producer for Munchhausen Productions, noting that it will not be possible to watch the film in Latvia at the moment; however, there are ongoing negotiations to make the film available on one of the streaming services.
The production of the feature film Boundless was co-financed by the Latvian State Budget within the framework of the LIAA programme “2022 State Budget Co-financing Competition for Foreign Films in Latvia”, as well as by Riga Municipality as a part of the Riga Film Fund programme.
From March 2022 to June 2023, a total of 16 film projects from 11 countries – Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, Switzerland, Germany – have been supported with co-financing of EUR 3.62 million as a part of this LIAA-organised programme.
The 6th round of the competition is currently being evaluated, with 7 projects submitted.
The aim of the competition “State Budget Co-financing for Foreign Films in Latvia” is to attract foreign funding for the Latvian film industry and other industries by supporting the production of foreign films, including feature films, animated and documentary films, as well as television films, in Latvia. The film industry is a major boost to the country’s economic development and recognisability. The co-financing effectively promotes employment in various economic sectors, including those not directly related to the film sector (e.g., hospitality, catering, transport services), while strengthening the international competitiveness of filmmaking professionals.