Latvian adventurer Alexander Laime's life inspires new animated film

The animated film "Laimīgie" (international title "Born in the Jungle"), produced by studio Atom Art, is the second collaboration between director Edmunds Jansons and artist-writer Elīna Brasliņa, following their 2019 film "Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs." The new project is a co-production between Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic, conceived during the Covid pandemic, when families confined at home had to relearn how to coexist under one roof.

The film has already been presented at the prestigious Annecy animation festival in France, and after its Latvian premiere it will be shown in more than 25 countries. Its screenplay draws inspiration from the real-life story of Latvian traveler Alexander Laime, whose extraordinary biography is tied to tropical jungles and South American indigenous peoples.

Who was Alexander Laime

Alexander Laime was born on July 9, 1911, in Riga, into the family of tailor August Laime, and grew up in the working-class Grīziņkalns district, spending summers in Vecgulbene. Even as a child he was captivated by adventure stories and travel books — with his first earned money, he and a friend rented a boat and set off on an "expedition" along Riga's canal.

At age thirteen, the boy worked as a sailor on a ship transporting firewood, later learned sailing and reached Liepāja with friends by sailboat. At sixteen he crossed France alone on foot, then sailed to Egypt on a merchant ship, where, left penniless, he temporarily enrolled in a local Muslim school until his parents sent money for his return journey.

In later years, Laime's path led him to the jungles of Venezuela, where he spent roughly fifty years, lived among indigenous tribes, and became the first person to reach the world's highest waterfall on foot.