The film "In the Net. The Birth of the TTT Legend" has hit the cinema screens.
Dedicated to the film about the famous Latvian women's basketball club from Riga, the name of which "TTT" is modestly deciphered as "Tram and Trolleybus Trust." It became the most titled club not only in Latvia and the USSR but also in Europe.
A Man Will Play Uljana
What can Latvia be proud of in the field of sports on its recent birthday? Correct, the story of the Latvian men's basketball team that won the first European Championship in history in 1935 and its head coach Valdemars Baumanis. In 2012, director Aigars Grauba made an excellent film "Dream Team 1935" about this. Perhaps one day a film will also be made about the recent achievement of the hockey players when the Latvian national team won bronze at the World Ice Hockey Championship in 2023.
But while the first achievement occurred during the times of the first independent republic, the second one is already in the present times. It was somehow scary to screen the achievements of Latvian sports during the Soviet era... After all, the "TTT Rīga," established in 1958, won the European Champions Cup nineteen times! Not to mention that it became the champion of the USSR 26 times and the champion of Latvia 25 times! From this team came Olympic champion Uljana Semjonova, as well as many others.
Speaking of the great Uljana, the filming of the feature film "Uljana" directed by Viesturs Kairišs is currently wrapping up. Notably, the role of Uljana is played by a man - the tall and stately actor of the "Dailes" Theatre, Arnold Avots. We can only wish Uljana Semjonova, who is now 73 years old, health and well-being - as much as possible, considering that she has been living in a nursing home for several years and, unfortunately, has had her lower legs amputated.
With a Teddy Bear Against the KGB
Meanwhile, in the nearly two-hour biographical drama "In the Net. The Birth of the TTT Legend" - the story of the birth of the legendary club and its player Dzidra Uztupe-Karamysheva (1930–2014), played in the film by Agnese Budovska.
Dzidra is the first captain of "TTT," a four-time European champion, and the first Latvian in the USSR national team. She dedicated her entire life to basketball - first as a player, then as a coach until 1979. In the team, Dzidra was called "the girl with the teddy bear" due to her relatively small stature and her mascot - a small ragged teddy bear that she always held during games as a symbol of faith and confidence. Even the fiercest opponents knew about this mascot and joked about it.
The director of the sports drama is Dzintars Dreibergs, well-known among Latvian cinephiles as the creator of the feature film "The Snowstorm of Souls," dedicated to Latvian sharpshooters. The film has won six national film awards "Big Kristaps," including the most prestigious - for Best Feature Film, as well as for Best Direction.
According to the director's vision for the film about TTT, the struggle under the basket requires courage - just like the struggle for freedom. In Riga, under Soviet rule, the greatest women's basketball team in European history was born. Its captain Dzidra will need the courage to defeat those whom it is forbidden to hit and even to confront the KGB. For her, victory on the basketball court is more than just sport. It is the hope of overcoming the totalitarian regime and reuniting with her brother living in exile. Will basketball help her realize her dream?
Who Was First
"For me, it is very important to tell stories that we, in Latvia, do not know but should know. And to which, for many reasons, we have not turned for years. And this is exactly such a film," says Dreibergs (he himself once played basketball) about his latest film. This is not just a story about the birth of the greatest women's basketball team in European history from Soviet Riga, but also personal stories, most of which are preserved in the memories of surviving team players and their families, but not in historical archives.
"We know so little about this time, and that’s what this film is about," says the director. "I wanted to give something back to basketball. I spent a significant part of my life in training, and during that time I learned a lot. I think that people involved in sports quickly learn discipline. Yes, everyone knows Uljana Semjonova, but they forget that when she came to TTT, they had already been the best team for 10 years. With all due respect to Uljana, who was the best player of her time, I suddenly had a question: who were these first ones?"
The feature film includes a documentary interview with the real Dzidra Uztupe-Karamysheva, who unfortunately passed away over 10 years ago. The director had to talk not only with historians but also with players and their relatives who could remember some details, and figuring everything out was a real detective work. As a result, one of the lines of the film is a very personal story of Dzidra Karamysheva, another is about "TTT." And the third line tells about the real political situation of that time.
There were horrors of Soviet power - the omnipresent KGB is present in the film, watching to ensure that the basketball player could not escape to relatives living abroad. The film reports that Dzidra, who was already a champion in 1950, was called in for a check and told: "We know that you have a brother abroad, so you are not going anywhere."
Music and Politics
The music for the film was composed by Lolita Ritmane, a Latvian living in the USA, a highly respected composer close to Hollywood. To her dynamic music, dramas unfold and victories are achieved in the glory of Soviet sports.
For example, the character of Aleksandrs Karamyshevs (1928–2008), Dzidra's husband and a legend of Latvian rally racing. Interestingly, neither Aleksandrs nor Dzidra, despite their extensive experience of traveling abroad, were members of the Communist Party, and Aleksandrs somehow managed to avoid joining not only the Komsomol but also the all-Union pioneer organization. Whether he was a Young Octobrist is unknown.
We also see the image of Olgerts Altbergs (1921–1998), the founder and first coach of "TTT," under whose leadership the team won the European Cup three times.
And there is also Paul Strazds, played by Arturs Skrastinsh. The character is based on Pauls Dzerves (1918–1961) - a Latvian economist, a prominent figure in the Communist Party, who advocated for the economy of Latvia to serve the population of the republic and limited the entry of Russians into the Latvian SSR. He died at a railway crossing.
...The director says he would very much like to make a story about our outstanding hockey player Arturs Irbe. But for now - basketball!
For Reference
Dzidra Petrovna Uztupe-Karamysheva (March 2, 1930 - December 27, 2014) - basketball player and coach. Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1956), Honored Coach of the Latvian SSR (1973), Honored Coach of the USSR (1979).
She graduated from the Latvian State Institute of Physical Culture. Throughout her career as a player for "TTT" (Riga), she was the team captain. From 1965 to 1979 - coach of "TTT." She was awarded the Soviet Order of the Badge of Honor (1957) and the Latvian Order of the Three Stars (1998).
