Director Viesturs Kairišs, known for his historical dramas, embarks on a different kind of project with 'Ulya'. Inspired by the remarkable life of two-time Olympic and three-time world champion Uljana Semjonova, the film chronicles her journey from an isolated rural Old Believer community to the pinnacle of professional basketball. Semjonova, an imposing figure known for her extraordinary height, became the first non-U.S. woman inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame after winning numerous national and international titles.

What sets 'Ulya' apart is its unconventional casting: rising Latvian actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, a previous collaborator with Kairišs on 2022's 'January', portrays the female basketball icon. Avots initially envisioned a play about Semjonova, a neighbor of his in Riga, but Kairišs quickly saw the cinematic potential. "I heard from Kārlis for a while that his dream was to play Uljana Semjonova," Kairišs told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that he realized, "wow, it’s a film. It’s not a theater play."

Despite Kairišs's initial reluctance to tackle another historical or sports-focused project, he was captivated by the story's beginning: "I was seriously touched by this beginning. I immediately had this first image in my head about some far-away environment where a strange tall girl lives, and people suddenly start to look for her." The idea of Avots playing Ulya was integral to the concept from the outset, despite some co-producers' concerns about it appearing as a caricature. Kairišs embraced the challenge, stating, "I’m totally not interested in just a, let’s say, ‘normal’ or traditional film."

The filmmaker drew inspiration from Werner Herzog's 'The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser' and suggested Ingmar Bergman's 'Persona' to his cinematographer, Wojciech Staroń, for its aesthetic influence. Kairišs aimed to delve into Semjonova's inner world, focusing on her subjective experience. He believes this approach gives the film a universal resonance. "Everybody has something that you want to hide that responds to all the standards that the modern world demands of you," he reflected, suggesting the film speaks to the "inner freak that we hold inside."

'Ulya' is a significant co-production between Latvia, Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania, symbolizing the growing strength of Baltic cinema. As Triin Tramberg, artistic director of PÖFF, noted, it's a prime example of what Baltic film industries can achieve through collaboration. Beyond critical acclaim and festival premieres, 'Ulya' has achieved remarkable commercial success in Latvia. With over 105,000 admissions, it stands as the country's most successful Latvian film of 2026, outperforming Hollywood blockbusters like 'The Odyssey' and 'Minions & Monsters', and ranking as the second most successful film overall in Latvian cinemas. Kairišs described this as "an unbelievable success for a black-and-white art house film."

This marks Kairišs's third film to represent Latvia at the Oscars, following 'January' (2022) and 'The Chronicles of Melanie' (2017). For the director, the international recognition, including the Cannes premiere, has been a dream realized, further amplified by the film's unexpected triumph at home.