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OSCARS 2015 Latvia

Rocks in My Pockets is Latvia’s entry for the Academy Awards

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- Signe Baumane’s animated feature is to vie for Best Foreign-language Film at the Oscars

Rocks in My Pockets is Latvia’s entry for the Academy Awards

Rocks in My Pockets [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Signe Baumane
film profile
]
, by New York-based Latvian animator Signe Baumane, will represent Latvia in the race for the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film. The movie premiered in competition at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – where it picked up the FIPRESCI Award and Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury – and has since been selected for the likes of San Sebastián and Busan. It has also been released in the USA and Latvia. 

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In Rocks in My Pockets, Baumane tells the story of five women from her family, including herself, and their struggles with madness. The film is packed with visual metaphors, surreal images and her unique twisted sense of humour.

Speaking exclusively to Cineuropa, she said: “It was unexpected for me, as Latvia has produced a few amazing films in the last year, and I didn't think an animated feature would have a chance in the competition against great live-action films. I do feel honoured and thrilled that ‘Rocks’ made the selection. I think that with Rocks being Latvia's official entry, more people will get a chance to see the film and get better acquainted with Latvia's history and people. It also thrills me that the film, whose main subject is the history of a family through the lens of mental illness, will get wider exposure. We need to continue a conversation about mental health, especially after Robin William's tragic passing – it really broke my heart, as it did for millions of other people. Rocks in My Pockets is part of that conversation, and I hope it can change how people view and deal with mental illness.”

Baumane and co-producer Sturgis Warner will also submit the film for the Academy Awards’ Animated Feature Film category.

World sales are handled by Polish agent New Europe Film Sales.

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