The filming of the new Latvian crime movie “The Bog,” produced in collaboration with Estonia, has begun, with part of the filming taking place in Estonia, in Tagula and Valga County.
The film’s director is Reinis Kalviņš, and the main producer is the Latvian film studio Mistrus Media. The co-producer from Estonia is the production company Meteoriit.
The production of the film was also supported by the Tartu Film Fund.
“The Bog” tells the story of an unresolved “murder” mystery from the early 1990s and its consequences today. When a body is found in a bog near a small Latvian town, rumors start circulating that it could be the remains of a boy who disappeared 30 years ago. The investigation into the case revives past events, forcing the film’s main characters to recall how they remember the situations and relationships from that time.
“The idea of a contemporary film set in a small Latvian town has been maturing in my mind for a long time. The story began to take shape when I learned about the phenomenon of bog bodies—ancient human remains occasionally discovered in European bogs, naturally preserved by the bog environment. The story of the film conveys the message that history is never truly dead; unresolved events haunt us, and forgetting or ignoring them does not mean they disappear,” says director Reinis Kalviņš.
The film’s crew consists of international professionals. The cinematographer is Jimmy Gimferrer (Spain), known for his work in Alberto Serra’s films. The scriptwriters are Reinis Kalviņš and Estonian screenwriters Livia Ulman and Andris Feldmanis, who have also written scripts for feature films such as “January” and “Compartment No. 6,” as well as the drama series “Estonia.”
The film’s production designer is Anneli Arusaar (Estonia), and the costume designers are Noemi Lara Ströber (Germany) and Berta Vilipsone (Latvia).
“In an era when one of the world’s leading trends is the demand for genre cinema, ‘The Bog’ has the potential to achieve international impact, as evidenced by the early interest from foreign funds and television channels during production. The film is a crime drama—a genre that is, unfortunately, rare in Latvian cinema today. Moreover, its plot uniquely addresses the ecology of bogs, exploring a theme that has only recently gained attention among anthropologists: the so-called bog bodies. This aspect underscores the film’s originality and gives the story a certain timelessness,” says the film’s main producer Gints Grūbe.
The film will be released in cinemas in 2025.
Mistrus Media has previously produced such internationally acclaimed Latvian films as “Maria’s Silence,” “Pig,” “January,” “The Swap,” “The Chronicles of Melanie,” as well as series like “Pension in the Manor House,” “Emīlija. Queen of the Press,” and the comedy “Parents’ Meeting,” set to premiere in January.
