Tall Man
The Baltic people don’t complain when they have to meet up 7am for a twelve hours outdoor session in the very middle of winter. Not even the Porta Potti guy seem to bother as he delivers his services on the bumpy dirt roads just in the the outskirts of Latvias capital Riga. It is late January and a small crowd of about fifty extras, camera-people, makeup-artists, cook and crew make up a little military-style camp on the top of Getlini ECO - Riga’s very own landfill, the city garbage dump.
It’s Årabrot come full circle. Back from the dead. Tall Man booming in our heads.
First commander Traavik sets the standard. Resolute, stoic. The Latvians are used to the cold. Guess they unfortunately have been underminded for generations. Nothing is taken for granted. And now it even starts to snow...
Getlini stinks. It’s not a bad smell, it’s foul. It is wrong. One imagine how the enormous population of birds here cope. We cope. Under soldier Traavik’s stern guidance we easily move from exercise to exercise.
The undulating snow covering the camp and crew and lay a comfortable ice-cold blanket over the scenery. And when filming the final shots at nightfall you are weary and aching from frost, but strangely feel at one with the stale circumstances. You feel happy to have been part of the apocalypse. A tiny apocalypse and a tiny bit of armageddon.
I ʞ:u I 2016
ÅRABROT - TALL MAN
Director: Morten Traavik DOP: Valdis Celmiņš, Jānis Šēnbergs Art director: Kristaps Epners Costume designer: Jurate Jurjāne – Silakaktiņa Make-up artist: Viktorija Safronova, Renāte Bāliņa 1 AC: Miks Ramāns 2 AC: Mārtiņš Jurciks Photographer: Aigars Endzelis Gaffer: Toms Ločmelis Casting: Māra Liniņa, Liene Vindele Editor: Gatis Belogrudovs Grading and mastering: Krišs Roziņš Sound designer: Artis Dukaļskis Unit manager: Ņikita Alimovs Logistics: Gatis Rūtiņš Line Producer: Agne Skane Producer: Uldis Cekulis
Produced by VFS Films and Traavik.Info
Special thanks to Getliņi ECO waste management company, Linda Vītola-Barānova, Rūdolfs Kalējs. Support: SDG Lighting, Hansa Film Services, Vedam.lv, Two Wheels, Visi savējie.