
Uldis Cekulis
Producer / Cinematographer
Strādāt ar labiem cilvēkiem man noteikti ir krietni interesantāk nekā rīkoties ar kaudzi naudas.
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What do you do when you are a professional physicist enchanted by the world of moving images? You become a producer trying to make the best of your rational and emotional sides. That’s what happened to me.
Uldis Cekulis created the independent production company VFS FILMS almost 18 years ago and later won the International Trailblazer prize at MIPDOC in Cannes, which recognises the best documentary makers. He has worked on almost fifty creative documentaries and author-driven prime time TV projects both as a producer and sometimes as a cameraman. As producer, most of his films such as Roof on the Moonway, Theodore, The Deconstruction of an Artist, Double Aliens, Ukrainian Sheriffs and others have travelled and received awards around the world, including nomination for the European Film Academy Documentary Award 2005 for Dreamland by Laila Pakalnina and the Lithuanian official Academy Award entry Ramin by Audrius Stonys in 2012 for Best Foreign Language Film. Several times, his productions have received Best Documentary Prize at the Latvian National Film Festival. He has co-produced documentaries with Ukrainian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Russian, German, Italian, French, Greek, Icelandic, Finnish, and Georgian production companies. A big plus facilitating his career, was the EURODOC training programme as well as the Institute of Documentary Film initiatives. A member of the European Documentary Network (EDN) since 1998, Cekulis also served on its Executive Board. In addition, he is a member of EFA. Other activities include lecturing at the Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration and tutoring at many EDN organized workshops in Europe and the Caucasus. Currently he is working on five documentary co-productions.