Riga, Latvia · Film-first visual practice
Director, Photographer & Visual Storyteller
I create films, photographs, and visual worlds that move between animation, performance, memory, and myth. My work spans animated features, short films, cinematic portraiture, and hybrid image-making designed to stay with people.
Selected work
A curated entry point into internationally visible projects, spanning feature animation and short-form work with strong festival presence.
Thelma’s Perfect Birthday
A Latvian-Luxembourg co-production directed by Reinis Kalnaellis. The film premiered at Schlingel and later screened in Annecy Presents, bringing a warm, handmade visual world to an international audience.
Singing Hugo and His Incredible Adventures
A playful, dialogue-free short selected for Berlinale Generation Kplus. Fast, expressive storytelling with musical timing and strong character energy.
When Apples Roll
The early short that introduced Kalnaellis internationally and helped establish a long-running festival trajectory rooted in atmosphere, humour, and precise visual rhythm.
Services & collaborations
A simple way to understand what can be commissioned right now, without making anyone decode a whole artistic cosmology before sending an email.
Direction
Feature and short-form development, animation direction, visual concepting, story development, and director-led creative collaboration from early treatment to finished work.
Photography
Cinematic artist portraits, live performance sessions, editorial-feeling imagery, atmospheric stills, and visual campaigns for musicians, actors, festivals, and cultural spaces.
Visual development
Mood worlds, presentation language, concept framing, hybrid story experiments, and image systems that help projects feel distinctive before they are fully built.
Let's make something unforgettable.
For directing work, photography commissions, visual development, festival invitations, or artist collaborations, start by email or message me directly on WhatsApp for faster coordination.