Principal photography has begun in Riga on family adventure Little Robbers, featuring The Counterfeiters star Karl Markovics.

Robis (5) and his sister Louisa (7) hatch a plan to rob the bank that has evicted their family after their father loses his job.

Acme will release the Latvian-language version of the film in the Baltics, starting with an Easter 2009 release in Latvia. Film Laden will distribute a German-language version in Austria. The producers are in discussions with sales agent Sola Media, which handled Estonian breakout Lotte From Gadgetville.

Director Armands Zvirbulis is shooting at Riga Film Studio and on location in Riga and elsewhere in Latvia. The shoot is scheduled to last eight weeks.

Little Robbers is produced by Latvian producer Gatis Upmalis of Studio F.O.R.M.A., who previously produced the national hit and festival favorite, Waterbomb For The Fat Tomcat (2004, dir. Varis Brasla).

A Euros 1.1m Latvian-Austrian co-production, Little Robbers is the first Latvian-majority feature film co-produced with a non-Baltic partner. Backing comes from the National Film Center of Latvia, the Vienna Film Fund and the Austrian Film Institute.

Austrian co-producers are Fiona Meisel and Katja Dor-Helmer of Minifilm. Post-production will take place in Austria with Britta Nahler (The Countrfeiters) as editor and Walter W. Cikan (Slumming) as composer. The film is shot by Estonian director of photography Rein Kotov (Georg, Ruudi).