Midsummer Madness

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Austria/Great Britain/Latvia, 2006; orginal title: Midsummer Madness; 35mm colour; running time: 90 minutes; aspect ratio: 1:1,85; original language English with some Latvian, Russian and French; German version available; available with French and English subtitles

CREDITS

DIRECTOR/WRITER	Alexander Hahn
PRODUCERS	Markus Fischer, Steve Walsh, Guntis Trekteris
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER	Markus Fischer
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY	Jerzy Palacz
COMPOSER	Klaus Hundsbichler
SOUND	Aivars Riekstins
SOUND DESIGN	Nigel Holland
EDITOR	Klaus Hundsbichler
PRODUCTION COMPANY	Fischer Film, Steve Walsh Productions, Kaupo Filma

CAST

Livia	Maria de Medeiros
Toni	Dominique Pinon
Curt	Orlando Wells
Peteris	Tobias Moretti
Aida	Chulpan Khamatova
Maja	Birgit Minichmayr
Karl	Detlev Buck
Axel	Roland Düringer

SYNOPSIS

Janu Nakts (St. John's Night) is a traditional Latvian celebration during which family and friends gather to build bonfires, barbecue, drink and generally have a good time. According to legend, lovers and those who would like to fall in love, can search the woods for the "magic fern" on this night. This magic fern serves as the focus and pivotal point of the six stories in "Midsummer Madness" It is also a metaphor for the film's underlying theme - finding love. "MIDSUMMER MADNESS " is reflected in the recurring element of the magic fern, a metaphor (both in the film and in real life) for love. The question posed by the film is: can a search for love ever be successful? Each story deals with this question. An answer is provided at the film's conclusion in a humorous and unforgettable way: we see the legendary fern, glowing magically in a meadow. It exists after all! Then a cow ambles along and eats it.

One big party. One crazy surprise after another!

An American on a mission takes a taxi-ride which leads him to love.
A week ago Curt was an only child who had never left the States. Today he’s in a country he’s never heard of, looking for a half-sister he never knew he had. He’s a fish out of water, in a black mood, and to top it off, his uniquely eccentric, overly-helpful taxi-driver, Oskars, won’t shut up or stop asking personal questions!

Two football-loving firemen save each other.
Lewis and Mike combine the two loves of their lives - being firemen and supporting Liverpool Football Club - to break the ice on an exchange trip to Latvia to meet fellow firemen.
There’s nothing like a bit of male-bonding.
Boys will be boys, drinking will be heavy, accidents will happen, and conclusions will be drawn! But Lewis and Mike discover that there’s nothing better than a friend on whom you can depend.

A tired cook loses his appetite for his insatiable lover.
Even when she’s not flying, flight attendant Aida doesn’t like keeping her feet on the ground. She prefers to wrap her legs around her lover, Yuki, over and over again. But she fails to satisfy his needs for the finer details, like telling her xenophobic parents that he’s Japanese, that he’s a cook, and that he’s on his way to meet them!

An eel-merchant struggles to keep his head above water.
Everything depends on shady Russian, Leonid, signing the deal of his life, but his idea to ply Karl and Axel with food, drink, and pretty women to sweeten the deal, backfires when Karl only lusts after Leonid’s long-suffering girlfriend and Axel eats too many ‘funny’ mushrooms.

A widowed poetess loses her husband and finds two lovers.
Livia is rich, beautiful, mysterious, practical, and open to adventure, which is why she’s come to Latvia to bury her husband in Lithuania!!? Her bodyguard, Toni, is understandably protective but unusually possessive. When they hire driver Peteris, who flirts endlessly with Livia, Toni develops feelings for Livia, who is drawn to Peteris, who is after Livia’s money, and is getting on Toni’s nerves….!