LONER (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

LONER is a two-minute Latvian fantasy drama thriller about Lauris, a lonely scholar facing social pressure and bullying. As his thoughts take on fictional qualities, the short film introduces an unsettling question about how he experiences the world around him.

LONER is a 2026 Latvian short film that combines fantasy, drama and thriller elements in a remarkably compact format. The story centers on Lauris, a lonely scholar dealing with social pressure and bullying.

Written and directed by Ernests Meisters, the film also features a premise in which fiction begins to enter Lauris’s thinking. With a runtime of just two minutes, LONER presents its central idea in a concentrated form rather than as an extended narrative.

LONER movie details

Story without spoilers

Lauris is a scholar who feels isolated and pressured by the people around him. He is also bullied by classmates, placing his experience within a difficult social environment. As the story develops, his thinking appears to include fictional elements, creating the film’s fantasy and thriller dimension while leaving the nature of that experience open to interpretation.

What to expect

The supplied details point to a very brief, premise-driven film that blends social drama with fantasy and thriller elements. Its focus is on loneliness, bullying and the uncertain boundary between ordinary experience and fictional thought. Because the runtime is only two minutes, the film is structured as a concise short rather than a full-length character study.

Cast and creative team

Ernests Meisters directs LONER and plays Lauris, the central character. The supporting cast includes Kristaps Ankipāns as Klasesbiedrs #1, Glebs Kovaļovs as Klasesbiedrs #2, Sofija Kožemjakova as Klasesbiedrs #3, Nikita Fiļs as Klasesbiedrs #4 and Emīlija Erkena as Klasesbiedrs #5. No writer is listed in the supplied credits.

• Ernests Meisters as Lauris
• Kristaps Ankipāns as Klasesbiedrs #1
• Glebs Kovaļovs as Klasesbiedrs #2
• Sofija Kožemjakova as Klasesbiedrs #3
• Nikita Fiļs as Klasesbiedrs #4
• Emīlija Erkena as Klasesbiedrs #5

Release and production context

LONER was released on August 14, 2026. The film has a runtime of two minutes, is in Latvian and is associated with Latvia through its production context. It was produced by KAME(ra) Kinostudija. Its listed genres are Fantasy, Drama and Thriller.

Production companies: KAME(ra) Kinostudija

Movies Dock view

LONER offers a compact story built around isolation, bullying and a potentially unstable relationship between reality and fiction. Its short runtime makes it best understood as a concentrated Latvian short film with an unusual psychological premise.

Film data:
TMDB