EXCLUSIVE: Madrid-based Begin Again has taken international rights to Escape Net, the second solo fiction feature from Latvian director Dzintars Dreibergs. The film has already drawn more than 130,000 admissions at the local box office and continues its theatrical run, positioning itself as one of Latvia’s strongest local releases in years.
Inspired by real events, Escape Net charts the rise of the legendary women’s basketball club TTT Riga, which became the most dominant team in European basketball history during the Soviet era. Set in Stalinist Latvia, the film centres on a young woman who sees basketball as her sole chance to escape the USSR and reunite with her refugee brother, blending sports drama with political and personal stakes.
Dreibergs previously scored a major local and international success with his 2019 debut Blizzard Of Souls which became Latvia’s most watched film in more than 30 years, premiered in over 50 territories and was shortlisted for an Academy Award for best original score.
Escape Net is produced by the director’s Riga-based company Kultfilma and stars Agnese Budovska, Arturs Skrastins and Artur Smolyaninov.
“Escape Net is a deeply moving film with a universal story that resonates beyond cultural borders,” said Gloria Bretones, co-CEO of Begin Again Films. “The strong response in Latvia gives us confidence in the film’s international potential, as it is ultimately driven by emotions and human experiences audiences everywhere can connect with.”
Begin Again will introduce Escape Net to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Also on the company’s EFM slate is La Carn (literally, The Flesh), the debut feature from Spanish director Joan Porcel, produced by Charli Bujosa’s Mansalva Films in co-production with Spain’s Helsinki Films and MN Studios. A contemporary thriller rooted in the digital era, the film explores blurred boundaries between reality and virtual interaction through a performance-driven narrative. La Carn world-premiered at the 2025 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) and was previously selected for Locarno’s 2024 Match Me! programme.
A third title is Alan Minas’ Luiza, a coming-of-age drama offering a compassionate perspective on family dynamics and mental health. The story is seen through the eyes of a young Brazilian girl, who is confronted with the challenge of having to act as a mother to her own mother. Recently completed, the film was presented as a work in progress at Ventana Sur 2025 and is produced by Brazil’s Caraminhola Films in partnership with UK-based Union Content.
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