MELLOW MUD

SYNOPSIS

Loneliness, disillusionment and the experience of first love reveal the character of Raya, a 17-year-old living in rural Latvia with her grandmother and her little brother Robis. A staggering turn of events shakes up their lives, and the young girl must come to decisions that even a grown woman would find difficult to make.

In his strong debut feature, director Renārs Vimba tackles the delicate theme of coming-of-age and accepts the challenge of telling the story through the eyes of a young girl.

TRAILER

REVIEWS

The Hollywood Reporter
By Stephen Dalton

“Talented young leads elevate this bittersweet Baltic tale of adolescent angst.”

Variety
By Alissa Simon

“Harsh circumstances force a resourceful and determined Latvian lass to mature beyond her years in “Mellow Mud,” a compelling, bittersweet coming-of-ager from first-time feature helmer-writer Renars Vimba. This evocatively shot realist tale benefits from a spare yet credible script and a knockout performance from big-screen debutant Elina Vaska, who conveys her character’s feelings of anger, abandonment, responsibility and first love with conviction and authenticity. “

FESTIVALS / AWARDS

• Berlinale Generation 2016; Titanic Budapest IFF, Hungary;
• Cyprus Film Days IFF, Cyprus – Best Director Award;
• Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival, Denmark;
• Ankara International Film Festival, Turkey;
• Cinema in Sneakers, Film Festival for Children & Youth, Poland;
• Festival International du Film – La Rochelle, France;
• Karlovy Vary IFF, Czech Republic –  Variety Critics’ Choice;
• Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico;
• Sarajevo FF – Kinoscope, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Giffoni Film Festival, Italy;
• Der neue Heimat, Freistadt, Austria – Special mention;
• Baltic Debut Film Festival, Russia – Grand Prix for the Best Film;
• IFF “East & West”, Odenburg, Russia –  Grand-Prix for the Best Film, Best Actress, Russian Film Critics Prize;
• Helsinki IFF – Love & Anarchy, Finland;
• Silk Road IFF, China;
• Reykjavik IFF, Island;
• CinEast, Luxembourg – GRAND PRIX;
• Filmfest Osnabrück, Germany – Audience Award;
• National Film Festival LIELAIS KRISTAPS, Latvia – Best Feature Film, Best Actress, Best Scriptwriter Award;
• Nordische Filmtage Lübeck, Germany – Children and Youth Jury Award,
• Noordelijk Film Festival, Holland;
• Arras Film Festival, France;
• Filmfest Braunschweig, Germany;
• Cork Film Festival, Irland;
• Bratislava IFF, Slovakia – Student Award;
• Athen IFF, Greece;
• International Film Festival of India, Goa, India – Best Actor (Female) Award;
• Beginning Film Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia;
• Olympia Int’l Film Festival for Children and Young People, Greece – Best Director, Best screenplay, Best young actress in feature film;
• Baltic film Days at the Cinemateque, Oslo;
• Day for Night FF, UK;
• Palm Springs IFF, USA – Special Mention (New Voices/New Visions section);
• Tromsø IFF, Norway;
• Trieste Film Festival, Italy;
• Bengaluru International Film Festival, India;
• Festival International du Film d’Aubagne, France – Best Directing, Best Actress;
• Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, USA;
• EU Film Festival in L.A., USA;
• Seattle IFF, USA;
• PriFest, Kosovo – Best European Film Award, Media Jury Award;
• European Union Film Festival, Singapore;
• Slemani IFF, Iraq;
• The European Union Film Festival, Canada;
• AFI European Union Film Showcase, USA