Reinis Kalnaellis

An ancient Latvian folk tale is the basis for this colorful animated feature in the tradition of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. A vengeful sorceress casts a kingdom’s princess into a deep sleep at the top of an icy mountain, where she awaits release from the spell that will destroy the land. Of all the men vying for the honor, the shy outcast son of a family of thugs is the most unlikely. Director Kalnaellis brings a playful sense of humor to the characterizations and adds zippy contemporary elements including a chorus of wisecracking crows. (Gene Siskel Film Center)

When a chicken is kidnapped by two thieves, a lively adventure full of humor and with a surprising twist begin.

Cat lives in an antique wood cabinet with his devoted friend Mouse. There is an apple orchard on the fringes of the old town. But this autumn, while Cat is picking apples, things turn out differently. All of a sudden a strange egg rolls into the orchard.

Thelma is a little penguin who is not like the others. She doesn’t like snow very much, or freezing water, and she wishes she could fly. Was that because she was born in the Great Forest, and partially raised by her best friends, Cat Vilhelm and Mouse Sophia? Living in the Land of Ice again, Thelma also worries about her upcoming birthday. What if Birthday doesn’t find her snow-covered house - will she have to stay for forever? When Thelma tries to organize a Birthday Party for her forest friends, she tumbles into a great adventure that will teach her all she needs to know to become a proper penguin.

We played with words, we played all day, until Alphabet was made.

At times soaring above the clouds, at times reaching the lowest of lows, I fight to survive and to find a place for myself.

An ancient Latvian folk tale is the basis for this colorful animated feature in the tradition of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. A vengeful sorceress casts a kingdom’s princess into a deep sleep at the top of an icy mountain, where she awaits release from the spell that will destroy the land. Of all the men vying for the honor, the shy outcast son of a family of thugs is the most unlikely. Director Kalnaellis brings a playful sense of humor to the characterizations and adds zippy contemporary elements including a chorus of wisecracking crows. (Gene Siskel Film Center)

When a chicken is kidnapped by two thieves, a lively adventure full of humor and with a surprising twist begin.

Cat lives in an antique wood cabinet with his devoted friend Mouse. There is an apple orchard on the fringes of the old town. But this autumn, while Cat is picking apples, things turn out differently. All of a sudden a strange egg rolls into the orchard.

Thelma is a little penguin who is not like the others. She doesn’t like snow very much, or freezing water, and she wishes she could fly. Was that because she was born in the Great Forest, and partially raised by her best friends, Cat Vilhelm and Mouse Sophia? Living in the Land of Ice again, Thelma also worries about her upcoming birthday. What if Birthday doesn’t find her snow-covered house - will she have to stay for forever? When Thelma tries to organize a Birthday Party for her forest friends, she tumbles into a great adventure that will teach her all she needs to know to become a proper penguin.

We played with words, we played all day, until Alphabet was made.

At times soaring above the clouds, at times reaching the lowest of lows, I fight to survive and to find a place for myself.

The harsh environment of Latgale determines the visual language and provincial aesthetic of this film, while the particular milieu of the surrounding pottery furnaces and old cottages depict an end of the line region where one man is burning himself in the fires of his artistic passion, making of clay pots.

The harsh environment of Latgale determines the visual language and provincial aesthetic of this film, while the particular milieu of the surrounding pottery furnaces and old cottages depict an end of the line region where one man is burning himself in the fires of his artistic passion, making of clay pots.

The harsh environment of Latgale determines the visual language and provincial aesthetic of this film, while the particular milieu of the surrounding pottery furnaces and old cottages depict an end of the line region where one man is burning himself in the fires of his artistic passion, making of clay pots.