IN THE TRUTH

Seventeen-year-old Mark lives in a loving yet strict Jehovah’s Witness family, striving to be the best preacher he can. However, when he becomes involved in a secret romance with his classmate Elina, his personality unintentionally draws her into his faith. As Elina embraces the religion and its rules, their relationship crumbles, and she decides to help Mark restore his relationship with God by exposing his double life, resulting in his excommunication from the congregation. Now the future of Mark lies in the hands of his father, Sergey, who must choose whether to remain loyal to his son or to his religion – shunning Mark – a decision that sets off a chain of events ending in a tragic confrontation over the question: what does it mean to be in the truth?

Type of work: Film
Stage: Development
Looking for: Co-producers, distributors
Contacts: liva@vfs.lv

Representatives

TOMS HARJO

Director

Toms Harjo (b. 1996) is a Latvian director and actor. He graduated from the ISSP Photography School in 2017 and soon established himself in the visual arts, presenting several solo exhibitions, including In the Truth, an autobiographical project exploring his experience as a Jehovah’s Witness. Later that year, he was selected from over 280 applicants for the prestigious New Riga Theatre acting course at the Latvian Academy of Culture, led by Alvis Hermanis. Since then, Harjo has been a member of the New Riga Theatre ensemble. Alongside his work in photography and acting, he directs films and music videos, creating visually striking, contemporary pieces. His artistic practice engages in an ongoing dialogue between personal history, performance, and experimental narrative forms.

LĪVA VERNERE

Producer

Līva Vernere is a film producer based in Riga, Latvia. After graduating with a bachelor’s in film production, she is pursuing a master’s in Curatorial Studies at the Latvian Academy of Art. She has worked with film studios Tritone Studio, Air Productions, and fon Films as a producer of documentary and fiction short films screened locally and internationally. Līva joined the VFS Films team as a producer in 2024.