The film follows the last years of professor Irena Veisaite's life. A distinguished Germanist and theatre scholar, Irena, now in her 90s, is unapologetically modern, inspiring, building bridges between people of different ages, religions and nationalities. Her home is always full of different people and languages. Both of Your Mothers challenges viewers to reflect on the enduring impact of war, the strength found in love and the potential for positive change even in the darkest moments of history. The narrative weaves together personal stories and historical events, honouring Irena’s legacy as a beacon of hope and a staunch advocate for understanding amidst the chaos of the past and present.

“Irena was my friend despite the 52 years age gap. I was inspired by her unbreakable spirit and exceptional humanity. I was trying to understand how she could stay after surviving and witnessing such crimes, where the surroundings constantly reminded her of past horrors. Why did she decide to stay here and, most importantly, to forgive the past? How she, having lived through two horrible realities, Nazi and Stalinist, did not lose her love for people? Unfortunately, and sadly, Irena passed away during the film’s production. This film is going to be my farewell letter for Irena, for the woman who deeply affected me with her empathy, irrepressible intellectual curiosity, commitment to understanding the other and a vigorously open mind”, Giedrė Žickytė told FNE.

Both of Your Mothers is produced by Giedrė Žickytė through Lithuanian Moonmakers and coproduced by Pille Rünk through Estonian Allfilm and Martichka Bozhilova through Bulgarian Agitprop.

The project is supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Eurimages, Creative Europe MEDIA, the Estonian Film Institute, the Bulgarian National Film Center, Vilnius Goethe Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment and the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

The film was shot in Lithuania, Estonia and Poland during 2020-2023, and it will be completed and released in 2024.

Production Information:

Producer:
Moonmakers (www.moonmakers.lt) (Lithuania)www.moonmakers.lt
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Coproducers:
Allfilm (Estonia)
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Agitprop (Bulgaria)
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Credits:
Director: Giedrė Žickytė
Scriptwriter: Giedrė Žickytė
DoPs: Eitvydas Doškus, Rein Kotov
DoP (development stage): Rimvydas Leipus
Editors: Danielius Kokanauskis, Claudio Hughes
Story editor: Georgi Bogdanov
Sound recordists: Ignas Mateika, Mart Kessel- Otsa
Sound designer: Jonas Maksvytis
Composer: Mart Matis Lill
Color grading: Todor Todorova