Latvia‘s Animated Oscar Contender ‘Dog of God‘ Secures Distribution Deals in Germany and Greece
Latvia’s submission for the 2024 Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category, the animated feature Dog of God, has secured distribution deals in Germany and Greece, bolstering the film’s international profile as it campaigns for Oscar recognition. Produced by Tritone Studio for under €1 million ($1.1 million), the film has garnered attention for it’s unique blend of baltic pagan culture, past drama, and mature themes.
The Ābele brothers, Gints and Raitis, directed Dog of God, embracing a creative freedom encouraged by distributors familiar with Japanese animation from the ’90s. “That audience has seen Japanese animation from the ’90s, which means they are ready for anything,” Raitis recalls. “we were encouraged to go wild,” and the filmmakers chose to ground the film in their Baltic roots, drawing inspiration from conventional folk songs for its more provocative elements. The story centers on a 17th-century court trial involving a werewolf, interwoven with “fairy-tale like characters and magician spells.”
Dog of God distinguishes itself with its thematic exploration of power dynamics, rather than a direct critique of religion. “We are against the use of power. We’re not against a hierarchical society when it’s natural. But every hierarchy fucks up at some point. When order becomes to strict, it needs to be challenged,” explained Raitis. He added that Latvia’s experience under Soviet occupation and subsequent embrace of democracy since 1991 has deeply informed this perspective.
The film’s financing was supported by the National Film Center of Latvia and a key investment from U.S.indie producer Giovanni Labadessa of Lumiere Lab, who was impressed by the Ābele brothers’ previous work, Troubled Minds (2021).
Currently, the team is actively pursuing an Oscar campaign, with Lauris Ābele recently traveling to the U.S. bearing a unique gift for Academy members: chaga mushroom body skincare. “These aren’t psychedelic but medicinal mushrooms with healing powers.I hope Lauris will make it through customs with them!” Raitis quipped, expressing hope for continued momentum leading up to the Oscar short-listing announcement on December 16.
The success of Dog of God is seen as a critically important step for Latvian and Baltic cinema, opening doors for a wider range of animated projects beyond the dominance of studios like Pixar and disney. The Ābele brothers are already developing their next project, a live-action thriller titled wagner and Satan, exploring the formative years of German composer Richard Wagner in Latvia, promising “a true Faustian drama” steeped in paganism and occultism.
