Hollywood's preferred Latvian production service, Forma Pro, is the producer of Kristen Stewart's certain entry "The Age of the Water" - along with Stewart's Nevermind Pictures, UK's Scott Free and France's CG Cinema, is improving its game in the euro co-production field.

The Riga-based outlet which also served the Cannes Premiere title “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele” by Kirill Serebrennikov, is lining up a handful of mega-European co-productions for 2025-2026, notably through long-standing relationships with auteur-driven powerhouses CG Cinema headed by Charles Gillibert, and Serebrennikov's regular production banner Hype Studios.

First of all, "Out of the World", is the English debut of Catalan filmmaker Alberto Serra, produced by France's Ideale Group and Les Films Du Losange, with Andergraun in Spain, Pandora films in Germany, and Eurimages and Arte.

Details of the storyline are still under the parcel, although according to a statement by Arte France Cinéma, it will center around the historical competition between the United States and Russia, in the Ukrainian war, a U.S. delegation was sent to Russia in an attempt to find a solution to the economic disputes of sanctions.

Max Pavlov, production director for Forma Pro Films, said the five-week shooting in Latvia this summer will be "hard" and will shoot almost every day to meet Serra's requirements. "Alberto loves working with a small team," he said, which will be an intimate shot with small crew members from Spain, France and Latvia. ”

Next is the Russian Helmer Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Minotaur", a 2017 multiple Palme d'Or D'Or D'Or D'Or contender and jury award winner "Loveless". Filming in Latvia will begin in October. "It would be very interesting to work differently from Alberto Serra's small crew and the Hollywood giant team again," Pavlov said. "Andrei, who now lives in exile in France, has taken the typical Russian filmmaking approach, and he planned his films in detail, thinking about each photo alone," Pavlov said.

The project was produced by MK Productions and CG Cinemas in France and co-produced with Forma Pro Films and Razor Film Produktion in Germany.

The Forma Pro film will also serve Serebrennikov's first French-language project "après" after Cannes' 2024 rivals "Limonov-Ball" and "The Missing of Joseph Mongli". The Hype Studios feature will be produced by Forma Pro Films President Igor Pronin and CEO Julia Zaytseva.

Cannes spotlight

In discussing the company's important business in Cannes with Serebrennikov and Stewart, Forma Pro film producer and developer Svetlana Punte said: "We are honored to work with such an outstanding director.

Experienced Kirill will once again surprise audiences with "The Missing of Josef Mengele" (the directorial debut about Stewart), like "a diamond revealed to the world." In her experience as her first commercial (besides making “The Age of Water”), Pant said: “Kristen is one of the most prepared directors I’ve worked with. She’s ready to compromise if needed, but always stay focused on her own horizon.”

The film was filmed in Latvia for 26 days and a few days at the Forma Pro film’s new post in Malta, although the entire story on paper is ours. “New York, Texas, Oregon – you name it – we recreated all of this in the scenes of Latvia-Bass Santiago, which we shot in Malta.”

Latvia shooting assets

For experienced film executives, Latvia's national cash discount is very competitive, limiting 30% of eligible costs, expert actors and staff, and a wide range of locations. To provide customers with maximum shooting comfort and choice throughout the year, Forma Pro Films has also built its own infrastructure, one of the largest LED unit studios in Europe.

“We always strive for the best, which is why we are the biggest players filming in Latvia.” Dano and Cary Fukunaga’s “Blood on the Snow Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Eva Green.

"It's interesting that both films are almost all shot in Latvia, which proves that we can easily accommodate the main works at the same time," Punte stressed.
Asked if he was concerned that Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on films produced overseas, Pavlov said: "Hope the tariffs won't take effect. We're just standing by." Looking ahead, the production leader said his goal for Forma Pro movies is to take advantage of TV series. “The market is changing; we know the series is growing rapidly, so we will explore this market in the future.”