In the Mirror / Spogulī
Latvia, Lithuania 2020
Directed by Laila Pakalniņa, comedy, 84 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Laila Pakalniņa
With Madlēna Valdberga, Lauris Dzelzītis, Elza Leimane, Kaspars Gods
A CrossFit trainer becomes a father of a baby girl, Snow White. Her mother dies during the birth. The new stepmother is a CrossFit fanatic obsessed with the mirror and herself who proudly establishes a new CrossFit record by doing 50 burpees in a row. Time passes. Growing up in the CrossFit gym, one day, Snow White manages to outdo her stepmom’s record with 53 burpees in a row. “This can´t be!” the Stepmother exclaims. “Mirror, mirror, who is the best?” The girl must be got rid of.
Meticulously choreographed, synchronized, and shot, Laila Pakalnina’s take on the traditional fairy tale is a genuine cinematographic treat, a sarcastic commentary on the society of selfie takers, and an intoxicating trip into the heart of its malaise.
The film premiered in the Official Competition at the Tallinn Black Nights IFF 2020.
With the support of the Latvian Embassy in Brussels