NEON SPRING
LATVIA – 2022 – DCP – color – 102’
Direction: MatIss Kaža
Screenplay: Marija Luuze Mejke, Matiss Kaža
Cinematography: Aleksandrs Grebnevs
Editing: Paula Popmane
Music: Toms Auniš
Set design: Rudolfs Baltinš
Costumes: Laura Jancauska, Krišjanis Elviks
Cast: Marija Luize Melke (Laine), Greta Trušina (Gunda), Gerds Lapoška (Adams), J?nis Skutelis (Edgars), Agnese Rukšane (Masha), Timotejs Pelle Kalninš (Budzis), Matiss Ozols (Karlis), Emils Ralfs
Producers: Una Celma, Matiss Kaža , Dace Siatkovska
Production: Una Celma, Matiss Kaža, Dace Siatkovska
World Sales: Magnolia Pictures Int.
SYNOPSIS
With strobe lights and a thumping techno soundtrack,Neon Spring chronicles two months in the life of Laine, a college girl from abland middle-class suburb in Latvia. As Laine’s father distances himself from his crumbling marriage and his family, Laine is unable to cope with the separation and discovers the edgy Riga party scene, where she falls in love with seasoned raver Gunda. Going from rave to rave, the girls journey into a drug-fuelled underworld of anarchy, freedom and exploration.
THE DIRECTOR: MATISS KAŽA
Mat?ss Kaža was born in 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in Riga, Latvia and got his BFA in Film & TV from Tisch School of the Arts in New York, and an MA in Audiovisual & Performing Arts from the Latvian Academy of Culture. At the age of 21, he debuted with his documentary One Ticket Please(2017), screened in several festivals around the world. He followed with several other documentary and fiction films, including Wild East(2020) and two experimental films,At The Movies(2020) andThe Taste Of Water(2022). He is also a producer of his own and others’ films. In 2022, he founded Trickster Pictures, based in Riga, Latvia with the aim of producing edgy works by upcoming filmmakers, just like Neon Spring.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“Riga’s underground electronic music scene is a key player in our story about a young girl who finds herself in a situation common to young people of my generation. Laine doesn’t know what she wants in life. She is sometimes a bit shy to experiment, but she’s desperate for new, and passionate feelings. Laine’s suburban family, the dream of superficial comfort come true, feels like a failed project. Her dad seems to have created the perfect cover up, but in the end he’s just as fragile as Laine. Just as she begins to find herself in a new community of ravers, Laine’s family goes through a separation crisis. Much of the screenplay is based on recounts of actual experiences, and the tour-de-force single take cinematography is meant to viscerally place us in the presence of Laine, her lovers and friends, many of which are inspired by characters found in Riga’s EDM party scene. I wanted to tell an honest, authentic story that explores the complexity of young relationships, sexual discoveries, loneliness, and escapism, without being didactic or preachy.”
2017 One Ticket Please (doc)
2018 Meyerhold’s Flight (short)
2020 Klejotaji (doc)
2020 Kino un mes
2020 Kad tu uz mani skaties (short)
2020 Wild East 2022 The Taste of Water (short)
2022 Neon Spring
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
2020 Tallin Baltic Event – Works in Progress: Works in Progress Award
2022 Edinburgh IFF
2022 Helsinki IFF – Love & Anarchy
2022 Riga IFF