Director Grauba and producer Ekis previously made the national block-busters Dangerous Summer (Baiga vasara, 2000) and The Defenders of Riga (Rigas sargi, 2007) both dealing with significant events in Latvian history. This time their attention has turned from war battles to sports battles. Dream Team 1935 follows a young, ambitious coach who gathers a team to participate in the first European Championship of fairly unknown game at that time - basketball. In their journey to become the first ever European champions, the Latvian team faces difficulties, as well as unexpected help, and learns that triumph and defeat are both a part of the game.
"The film is not just about a great sports game - basketball - but also about the idea of creating a European brotherhood and about the strength of character," said the producers. "The game made them a team. Their spirit made them champions."
Dream Team 1935 is produced by Platforma Film with a 2,500,000 EUR budget, and with a 340,000 EUR grant from the National Film Centre, and numerous national sponsors. The film was shot over a 90-day period in 2011 and 2012 with an extensive cast of young Latvian actors. The cinematographer is Latvian grand-master Gvido Skulte who also worked on Defenders of Riga. The screenplay was written by Grauba, Ekis and Franciska Cimare. Postproduction is done by the US company Color Space Finishing (colorspacefinishing.com).
The producers have secured a worldwide distribution agreement with US company Perry Street Advisors (www.perrystreetadvisors.com), with the exception of the Baltic States and Russia.
Production Information:
Director: Aigars Grauba
Producer: Andrejs Ekis
Screenplay: Franciska Cimmare, Aigars Grauba, Andrejs Ekis
Cinematographer: Gvido Skulte
Sound: Pavel Rejholec
Editor: Liga Pipare
Cast: Janis Amanis, Inga Alsina, Andris Bulis, Viktors Ellers, Janis Vimba, Martins Liepa, Arturs Putnins, Martins Pocs, Mikelis Zideluns, Arturs Kruzops, Gints Andzans, Vilis Daudzins, Marcis Manjakovs
Production Company: Platforma Film
Website (under construction): www.dreamteam1935.com
