RECENT NEWS

The Berlin Film Festival (February 12-22) has selected films for its Special, Panorama, and Generation strands. https://www.screendaily.com/news/berlin-reveals-2026-special-panorama-generation-titles/5212673.article

Early December is a busy time for the Ābele brothers. The European Film Academy has nominated their animated feature  Dog of God  (2025) in two categories - Best Animated Feature and Best European Film - while the Oscar campaign for Best Animated Feature is gaining momentum. At the same time, new projects are underway, including the crime series  Shadows of the Swamp  and the feature film  Wagner and Sata n, a Faustian, occult thriller. https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/latv

We are pleased to announce that  DOG OF GOD  has been  nominated for the European Film Awards and waiting for your vote - B est Animated Feature Film and also competing in the main Best European Film https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/latvia-news/item/127560-dog-of-god-nominated-for-the-european-film-awards

For those who earnestly believe that modern animation has become too tame, or whose tastes run toward the wilder, more exotic shades of life, a new animated feature out of Latvia just might be something to seriously consider when its theatrical release arrives in 2026. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2025/12/dog-of-god-hunting-the-werewolves-of-livonia/

Directors, and brothers, Lauris and Raitis Abele discuss their provocative and edgy takedown of dogmatic thinking and how its appeal has transcended the genre audience. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-2026-latvia-dog-of-god-animated-film-interview-abele-1236446811/

Latvia’s latest animated Oscar hopeful after ‘Flow’ was sold earlier by Media Move to North America and France https://variety.com/2025/film/global/latvia-oscar-dog-of-god-sales-germany-greece-1236590611/

“Sentimental Value” leads the race for the 38th European Film Awards , whose main category nominations were revealed on Tuesday in Seville, Spain. “Sentimental Value” has five nominations, while “Sirāt” follows with four, and “Sound of Falling” and “It Was Just an Accident” tie with three each. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Jan. 17 in Berlin, Germany. https://variety.com/2025/film/global/sentimental-value-european-film-awards-1236584437/

Cartuna has acquired North American distribution rights to “ Dog of God ,” the animated feature written and directed by Latvian filmmakers Lauris Ābele and Raitis Ābele, following its screening at the Sitges Film Festival. The company will release the film theatrically in 2026. “Dog of God” also reps Latvia in the international Oscar race, and has made the European Film Awards shortlist for best animated feature. Animation may prove to be fruitful for Latvia once again during

Cartuna has acquired North American distribution rights to  Dog of God , an animated horror-fantasy and Latvia’s 2026 Oscar submission. https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3909137/dog-of-god-rotoscoped-medieval-horror-movie-acquired-for-2026-release/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dog-of-god-rotoscoped-medieval-horror-movie-acquired-for-2026-release

Cartuna has picked up North American rights to Dog Of God , the Latvian Oscar submission fromLauris Ābele and Raitis Ābele that just received its Spanish premiere at Sitges.   https://www.screendaily.com/news/latvian-oscar-submission-dog-of-god-finds-north-american-home/5209929.article

The deadline for submissions to the Best International Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards has arrived, with the cutoff falling at 5 p.m. PT today.  Entries have been rolling in at a steady pace since mid-August, with the battle heating up in the category earlier than in past years. Deadline now has identified submissions from 86 countries (see below). This list is not exhaustive because some titles may not have been announced publicly, but it’s within the range

Latvia has chosen Lauris and Raitis Ābele ’s animated feature Dog of God   [ + ] as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2025 Academy Awards (see the news ). Following a thorough evaluation of the titles submitted, the national selection committee unanimously opted for the film, highlighting its boldness, innovation and use of the rarely employed rotoscope technique. Set in 17th-century Livonia, the picture follows a series of myst

Dire omens and sexual perversions, clerical fanaticism and collective madness — the diabolical dark fantasy “Dog of God” is an eerie, animated folk chiller from the Baltic region in which malevolent moments and sinister sights abound. The black humor that Baltic artists wield so boldly is as much a constant presence as the creeping sense of dread.  Official selection: Tribeca Film Festival 2025. Animation Plus section. Canadian Premiere. https://www.indiewire.com/news/festiva

The eye-popping trailer for animated feature Dog of God has debuted ahead of the film’s Tribeca Festival premiere. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dog-of-god-animated-werewolf-trailer-tribeca-1236238742/

Paris-based ESC Films has acquired all French rights for animated thriller Dog of God ahead of its world premiere in Tribeca in June. The film has been launched for sales at Cannes by Berlin-based Media Move ahead of the New York debut. Dog of God is directed by Lauris Abele and Raitis Abele and produced under the banner of their Riga-based film production company Tritone Studio , with Giovanni Labadessa co-producing under Lumiere Lab.  https://deadline.com/2025/05/tribeca