‘Oleg’ Helmer Juris Kursietis on His Upper Class Satire ‘The Exalted,’ Boarded by B-Rated International Ahead of Tallinn (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Annika Pham Covered with laurels for his recent series “Soviet Jeans” (audience award at Series Mania 2024) and for his features “Modris” (Latvia’s Oscar submission 2014) and “Oleg” (Cannes Director’s Fortnight entry 2019), Latvian writer/director Juris Kursietis is competing at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival’s Official Selection with “The Exalted,” due to world premiere Nov.

14. The satire about cultural clashes between Eastern and Western Europe, seen through the prism of an upper-class couple, has just been acquired by newly launched French sales outfit B-Rated International, outside the co-producing countries Estonia, Latvia, and Greece. “The Exalted” offers a harsh and cynical portrayal of the upper class,” said Arnaud Chevallier, formerly at Mediawan International Sales and founder of the Paris-based outfit. “We admire the pic’s brilliant and subtle directing and are convinced that it will resonate with foreign audiences due to its globally relevant themes and multiple languages spoken throughout the film.” Kursietis says “The Exalted” offers food for thought about the differences between the smaller Baltic countries and Western Europe, the perception we have of each other.

If you come from our region, there’s no chance you haven’t experienced discrimination in a European context. In a way, we’re still considered as the black sheep in the family,” he says.

The subject is explored through the story of Anna, a German world-renowned organ soloist, and her husband Andris, a Latvian businessman.