28/04/2017 - At Cannes, the French company will be kicking off sales for the new film by Aik Karapetian, following the acclaimed The Man in the Orange Jacket

Concentrating mainly on European genre film and emerging talents, Paris-based company Reel Suspects, managed by Matteo Lovadina, has just added the Latvian psychological thriller Firstborn [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Aik Karapetian to its line-up; the movie will be premiered at the Film Market of the 70th Cannes Film Festival (17-28 May).

Firstborn is the third feature by the filmmaker, who is of Armenian heritage but is Latvian by adoption, following People Out There [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (revealed at Karlovy Vary in 2012 in the East of the West section) and the highly original horror film The Man in the Orange Jacket [+see also:
film review
interview: Aik Karapetian
interview: Roberts Vinovskis
film profile], which enjoyed a solid international festival run in 2014, passing through such gatherings as the Fantastic Fest in Austin, the London Film Festival, Black Nights in Tallinn, Turin and Les Arcs.

Written by the director, the story revolves around a middle-aged intellectual who commits an act of unintentional homicide whilst trying to regain his dignity in the eyes of his wife, but soon after, it occurs to him that there is a strange connection between the victim, the sudden pregnancy of his wife and the mysterious blackmailer who tries to force him to do yet another awful thing.

The lead roles have been entrusted to Kaspars Znotiņš, Maija Doveika and Kaspars Zāle. Firstborn was produced by Roberts Vinovskis for Locomotive Productions.

Matteo Lovadina said he was “very happy to work on Aik Karapetian’s third feature. Festivals and buyers have high expectations for his new opus, which should be able to travel quite easily because it’s an outstanding film that skilfully blends genres, bringing together elements of a thriller and a suspenseful drama, which will have an effect on everyone.”

(Translated from French)