Signe Baumane’s ‘My Love Affair With Marriage’ Will Get A U.S. Theatrical Run Starting In October

Distributor 8 Above will bring Signe Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage to U.S. audiences for a limited theatrical run this October.

Among the film’s impressive list of honors are a Zagreb grand prize, an Annecy jury distinction, a Bucheon special distinction, a Fredrikstad best film win, and a European Film Award nomination for best animated European film.

My Love Affair with Marriage is the first-person account of how songs and fairytales convinced young Zelma that love would one day solve all her problems. As she grows up though, Zelma realizes the world in which she lives is far different than the one she was promised. A coming-of-age story that follows its protagonist through much of her life, the film also features interspersed biological segments that provide a scientific explanation of much of what Zelma is experiencing. Lessons about brain chemistry, anthropology, and the construct of romantic love provide viewers with a masterclass in human behavior.

Baumane spoke with Cartoon Brew last year as her film was beginning its incredible festival run, which began at Tribeca in June of 2022.

The film features hand-drawn animation superimposed over paper mâché sets, a technique which Baumane used to great effect on her previous film Rocks in My Pockets, winner of the Jury and FIPRESCI Prizes at Karlovy Vary in 2014 and Latvia’s foreign-language Oscar entry for the year.

My Love Affair with Marriage will be screened at The Quad in New York on October 6 and at Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles on October 13 (with a preview screening on October 12 at the Laemmle Royal). Other cities will follow.