Exclusive to Screen International for Publication Monday 05 February 2018

How to Sell a War - the fiction feature film debut of leading international documentary director Rudolph Herzog has announced start of shoot dates.  The film was developed by Creative England, Film and Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd, Finnish financing house IPR.VC and is being produced by Samantha Taylor and Mike Downey via their Dublin-based Film and Music Entertainment (IRE) in co-production with Georgia’s 20 Steps.with key financing from the UK’s Quickfire and Helsinki-based IPR.VC.  Shooting will begin on March 16 in Georgia.

London 2018 – In a few days time, the Piece Of Peace global charity concert is due to take place led by the vein and arrogant Irish rock star, Harry Hope and his over-confident PR consultant, Kate. When Russian war monger, Boris the Butcher, decides to call a cease-fire four days before the big event, Kate knows that she absolutely has to make this event happen or her career will be over. She embarks on a mission to Georgia to create a fake news story letting the world know that the war is back on. Assisted by her naïve new intern, Peggy, the two quickly discover that they have taken on more than they can handle and as events spiral out of their control, all hell quickly breaks loose.

How To Sell a War has been picked up for worldwide sales by UK sales outfit Bankside Films, and the production stars BAFTA winning Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, The Boat That Rocked) in the leading role of Kate and co-stars up-and-coming Lily Newmark as naïve intern/niece Peggy whose five star performance in Pin Cushion scored her a BIFA nomination this year.

“This is our sixth collaboration with 20 Steps in Georgia and is the sixth project that has been produced through our Dublin-based outfit since setting it up two years ago,” says Film and Music Entertainment CEO and EFA Deputy Chair Mike Downey, “and we are delighted with the results. Talent driven world cinema at its best.  How To Sell a War is a movie that is rooted very much in our contemporary world.  Rudolf and Tim have a killer sense of humour, and the chemistry between Katherine and Lily packs an explosive punch.  It’s a Piece of Peace!”

Rudolph Herzog (director) is an award-winning director, producer and writer. RTS Award-nominated The Paedophile Next Door for Channel 4, is BBC/ARD documentary on humour in Hitler's Third Reich sold widely internationally and his book Dead Funny on the same subject was named a book of the year by THE ATLANTIC. He directed The Heist for channel Four and in 2014, a documentary based on his book A Short History of Nuclear Folly was broadcast in Europe. He helmed a National Geographic special on the mysterious death of polar explorer Roald Amundsen and The Agent on the double agent Werner Stiller who escaped East Germany and became a millionaire at Goldman Sachs. His latest best seller, Teruggestalten, has been picked up by Philipp Kreuzer’s Maze Pictures (The Happy Prince) for production.

Written by Tim Price (Dr. Who; Secret Diary of a Call Girl) whose National Theatre sell-out production Occupy starred Rhys Ifans and whose The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning won the prestigious James Tait Black prize for drama) he has brought to life an idea by Raid Sabbah which is co-produced in association with Georgia’s 20 Steps Productions, and co-funded by Georgian National Film Centre and the tax credit scheme of Enterprise Georgia.

“It's really exciting to be producing How to Sell a War at the present time.” says Fame’s Samantha Taylor, “Katherine and Lily, our extremely talented lead actors, play two very funny women who stick it to the bully man, news-fakers, and to celebrity bullshit in general. With Rudolph directing a blazing script from Tim Price this is going to be a brilliant comedy trip. No one is safe. To paraphrase, humour isn’t about appeasing the patriarchy but rolling over it in an armoured car. We’re also very happy to be working for the fourth time with 20 Steps in Georgia and with Windmill Lane for the first. With this, and the support of IPR.VC, Quickfire, Bankside, GNFC, we are unstoppable.”

Fame is in an advanced stage of negotiations to confirm Sister Bliss to compose the score for the film.  As the musical force behind Faithless, world-renowned DJ and record producer Sister Bliss needs no introduction. Together with iconic front man Maxi Jazz and producer Rollo Armstrong (brother of Dido), she formed Faithless: one of the most successful electronic acts to date.  In their career spanning nearly 20 years, the group released 7 albums (two at number 1), six top 10 singles and sold in excess of 15 million records worldwide.

Sam Taylor and Mike Downey founded the UK-based independent production house Film and Music Entertainment as part of an IPO on the Frankfurt DAX. Film & Music Entertainment films have been screened at Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice, San Sebastian and Toronto Film festivals.  The first 18 years of F&ME’s existence saw it entering into production on 60-odd co-productions with a total budget of $ 200 million involving 132 production companies from all over Europe, Latin America and Asia. It now has a catalogue of rights in over 60 features including Academy Award Nominee and Venice Golden Lion winner Before the Rain, Academy Award Nominee Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Venice opener The President, box office horror hit Deathwatch, Sundance South African hit Son of Man, Jason Biggs starrer Guy X and Dinard winner White Lightnin' as well as 2012 Berlinale Audience Award Winner Parada by Srdjan Dragojevic.

How To Sell a War is a Downey/Taylor production for Film and Music Entertainment (IRE) in co-production with 20 Steps Production and in association with Quickfire Films, Bankside Films, IPR.VC fund and the Georgian National Film Centre.  Developed in association with Creative England, Film and Music Entertainment (UK), and Kinomedia.  The film is produced by Sam Taylor and Mike Downey, co-producers are Vladimer Katcharava and Radek Drabik and executive producers are James Atherton, Jan Pace, James Bierman and Aleksi Bardy.

 “We are thrilled to be bringing this whip-smart comedy to worldwide buyers.” Says Bankside Films Director Stephen Kelliher, “It is an incredibly timely piece which speaks to the world we live in today.  We feel sure that its laugh-out-loud satire will resonate with international audiences and that the creative team will excel in bringing the ultimate story of fake news to the screen.”

Quickfire’s Jan Pace added: 

“We're delighted to be working with such an accomplished creative team looking to deliver this smart, contemporary comedy. We've been following this project from an early draft, which gripped us with its irreverence and sharp instinct in highlighting our great collective political ineptitude to brilliant comedic effect. We cannot wait to see this rich cast of characters brought to life by the talented cast and the excellent Rudoph Herzog in his first comedy, and welcome working with producers as experienced and passionate as Mike and Sam on this project.”

The film will be shot by legendary German lenser Peter Zeitlinger whose work with Herzog senior has included, Grizzly Man, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Rescue Dawn and Cave of Forgotten Dreams as well as Nicole Kidman starrer Queen of the Desert.  The film will be edited by Anne Sopel whose most recent work includes Whisky Galore as well as Mr Selfridge and The White Princess.

Paul Ashton, Head of Film for Creative England whose Ashton’s executive producer credits at Creative England include Rachel Tunnard’s BIFA-winning feature debut Adult Life Skills, Justin Edgar’s upcoming feature The Marker and Jack Lowden-Martin McCann thriller Calibre remarked:

“It has been an absolute delight developing this project with FAME. I’ve been a fan of Tim Price’s work for a long time, and his collaboration with Rudolph Herzog has given life to an outrageously contemporary and deeply discomforting satire about war, politics, power, idealism and ‘fake news’. I cannot wait to see the finished film.”

Timo Argillander Managing Partner and Co-Founder of the IPR.VC fund added:  “How to Sell a War is a perfect case for our content investment fund: a top-notch team tackles a theme so actual and important, and in a way that will reach big audiences all over the world.”

Filmed on location in in Georgia and Dublin, casting is handled in the UK by Wildman Hall. Production services in Georgia have been supplied by Caucasian Film Service, post production services and investment will come from Dublin-based Windmill Lane, where the complete edit and all post will take place.  Local accounting services supplied by Grant Thornton and legal services on behalf of the producers by Mathesons.

Contact

Manon Clement                                 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

                                                           +447788265088

Mike Downey                                    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

On 30 January 2018 the Lithuanian Film Centre announced production grants for 11 projects dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian state, five minority coproductions and 10 national films (feature films, documentaries, animated films).

Storytek_ the first accelerator that brings together content creatives with world class technology competence in a specialized program in Tallinn, Estonia;  and the B3 Biennal B3 Biennial of the Moving Image, Frankfurt, Germany, launch digital art showcase.Storytek_ the first accelerator that brings together content creatives with world class technology competence in a specialized program in Tallinn, Estonia;  and the B3 Biennal B3 Biennial of the Moving Image, Frankfurt, Germany, launch digital art showcase.
Until 11 February, the Storytek x B3 Salon will turn Storytek's Creative hub into a popup gallery showcasing a selection of works of media artists of international stardom curated from the B3 Biennal's program.
 The program will feature three works from globally exhibited artists Federico Solmi (Italy, US),  Ann Oren (Israel, Germany) and Carlos Aires (Spain) exploring through digital arts the contemporary politics in the US, police, and surveillance of society, and idols and fandom in present-day Japan. The pop up gallery is open daily at Storytek's Creative Hub, Parda 6, 4th floor, Tallinn. 

On February 8th, Storytek will host a dedicated discussion and networking  Salon with B3’s Festival Director and renown German media arts curator, prof. Berndt Kracke, the managing director, Anna Katherina Gerson, and the B3 BEN 2017 Award winner, media artist Ann Oren.  Participants will be able to hear from the wide curatorial experience of B3 Biennal as well as get an in-depth look into the current themes and developments in the field of digital art, content, technology and new platforms.
“I am extremely delighted to bring and introduce the best of the last year's selection of B3 Estonian audiences. Both B3 and Storytek are committed to the idea and action of strengthening the dialogue between all industries of the moving image and the Salon in Tallinn will be the first step in developing future collaborations and events between in Frankfurt and Tallinn”, says Anna Katherina Gerson, managing director of the B3 Biennal.
Federico Solmi's The Great Farce (2017, VR experience) imagines reality has become an eternal amusement theme park.  It has become a place where the world's leaders can rewrite, fabricate, or travel to any event of the past, present, or future. They entertain, distract, and misdirect the world's population through spectacle. The virtual reality experience is a snapshot from Solmi's multiscreen installation presented at the  Schauspiel Frankfurt at B3 Biennal 2017.

Ann Oren’s “The World Is Ours” (2017, multiscreen video) is a 5 channel video installation mixing sampled animation with live documentary scenes shot in Tokyo. It revolves around Hatsune Miku, the feminine manga personification of a synthesizer software created for promotional purposes and to enhance user engagement.  The project explores the merger of fantasy into everyday reality by a cosplay enactment of the figure, performed by the artist herself along hardcore Miku fans in Japan and excerpts from an abundance of fan-made music and animation.

Carlos Aires’ “Sweet Dreams are made of this” (2016, video) shows two policemen dancing a tango version of the famous song performed by The Eurhythmics. In its origins, tango was mainly a dance between two men. They danced in harbor brothels. It was the result of the cultural mix of locals with immigrants. It was originally forbidden by the church and rejected by high society, which resulted in its development in poor suburbs and working-class slums.

The Storytek x B3 Biennal Salon is kindly supported by the Goethe Institut Tallinn.
 Artist and artwork photos and logos available at:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sx6nyf2ll1y1w42/AACBbm_ZHQ0JPpJ5Fvfm0_kda?dl=0

PRESS CONTACT
Sten Saluveer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+3725165242

 ***
ABOUT B3 BIENNAL
Since 2013 the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image in Frankfurt, Germany has shaped the genre- and cross-nation debate, has addressed new trends and developments in the field of the moving image. Since then within the context of the large national and international film and media festivals, art biennials, technology congresses and fairs it has acquired a special position as it has very successfully initiated a broadly-based dialog crossing sectors and genres.
With its modules Festival, Parcours and Campus/Market, the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image offers a comprehensive range of events, which propels the debate and networking of experts and young talents from film, TV, virtual and augmented reality, art, technology, and science.
The University of Art and Design Offenbach (HfG) is the organizer of the B3 Biennial of the Moving Image. B3 is supported by the Hessen Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts (HMWK), Hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien (LPR Hessen) and the City of Frankfurt/Main.
www.b3biennal.org
ABOUT STORYTEK
Storytek_ brings together deep audiovisual sector knowledge, technology and funding with a selection of hand-picked tech entrepreneurs and content creators in Tallinn, Estonia. The purpose of Storytek_ is to help creatives, producers, and early-stage companies to develop business, fast-track their content, products and services to the global markets and access finances. Besides its dedicated accelerator program, Storytek organizes the annual #futureofcontent conference Storytek Forum, monthly digital content and technology meetups and workshops, as well as showcases, exhibitions and special events. 
The strategic partners of Storytek are Elisa Estonia, the Black Nights Film Festival, and Price Waterhouse Coopers Baltics.
www.storytek.eu
**CARLOS AIRES**
Born in Ronda, Spain in 1974, Aires earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the University of Granada. He completed his studies at Fontys Academy Tilburg, HISK Antwerp and Ohio State University. His work can be found in public collections. Noteworthy examples include ARTIUM, Spain; MACBA, Spain; Fondation Francès, France; ARTER, Turkey; Maison Particulière, Belgium; Museum Biedermann, Germany; 21c Museum USA; MAK, Austria; Frans Masereel Centrum, Belgium.
**ANN OREN**
Ann Oren, born in Tel-Aviv, is a visual artist and filmmaker. She studied Film (BA) and Fine Arts (MA) at The School of Visual Arts, NY. Her works were screened at the Anthology Film Archives, Apexart, The Hammer Museum, the Moscow Biennial for Young Art, Tel Aviv Museum, Videoformes, WRO Media Art Biennial, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, DokLeipzig, New Horizons Film Festival, and Ann Arbor Film Festival.
**FEDERICO SOLMI**
Socio-political satire seethes in the edgy works of Federico Solmi (b. 1973, Italy. Based in Brooklyn). Exhibited throughout the world‎, and this spring in a solo museum presentation at MACZUL in Venezuela, the expressionist is also a B3 award-winner and accompanied the B3 team to Beijing and Shanghai. Fame and power, legacy and status, hypocrisy and injustice are among the issues the notorious animator will bring to bear on his B3 commission, a multi-channel work, to be projected on to the façade of the Frankfurt Opera house.
**End**
The project “Storytek Creative Hub”, a Tallinn, Estonia based content and media tech incubator executed by Storytek Ltd on July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2019, is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The total grant is up to 222 063,90 Euros.

 

MAZOVIA WARSAW FILM FUND announce the 8th edition of the competition for participation in film production. The contest's budget comes from the funds of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship Self-government and the City of Warsaw.The basic criterion for the participation of film projects in the competition is the linking of production with Warsaw and the Masovian voivodship through the film locations and themes, as well as participation in the implementation of creators and entrepreneurs from Warsaw and the Masovian Voivodeship, and the budget spent in the region. Mazovian Institute of Culture, operator of the Fund, will participate in projects selected as a result of the competition as a co-producer with a financial contribution.The terms of the contest are set out in the Competition Regulations The funds obtained as a result of the competition must be spent in 2018.

Applications for the competition should be submitted on working days at the temporary seat of the Mazovian Institute of Culture at ul. Świętojerska 5/7 in Warsaw (entrance from Telakowska Street), from 10.00-16.00, in room 3.Applications will be accepted from February 1, 2018 from 10.00.The deadline for submission of applications is February 15, 2018 at 16.00The date and time of its submission to the MIC are considered as the date of submitting the application.

The application should be submitted in paper form in 4 copies (1 original and 3 copies) and in the form of an electronic record (1 item).Each copy should be attached to the workbook (in the case of feature films, the scenarios must be fastened in separate files or in a different compact form).The application in the form of an electronic record should be submitted together with a set of separate attachments on an electronic medium in an editable and non-editable version (PDF or JPG format), designated respectively the name of the Applicant and the title of the Film.

The Competition Regulations and the application form are available on the website www.mwfc.pl or www.mff.mazovia.pl and at the headquarters of MIK.

 

 

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event have concluded another successful run, attracting nearly 600 film professionals to Tallinn and seeing the global online media reach double from 2016 results, reaching 70 million in 2017. The two Works In Progress showcases caught more attention than ever before, being attended by numerous high-profile festival programmers and sales companies.

Last year also saw the launch of Creative Gate, a new platform launched with the support of Black Nights FF and Industry@Tallinn,  aiming to boost regional creative industries and audiovisual talent and reach international markets. CG highlights in 2017 included Screen Stars Tallinn - a young actors' talent showcase that introduced eight up-and-coming actors from the Baltic sea region - entertaining local fashion design showcase Black Nights Catwalk and numerous panels for CG target groups - film music composing, post-production, art production, acting and casting agencies.

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event - 26-30 Nov

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival - 16 Nov - 2 Dec

STORYTEK_

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Launched with the support of Black Nights FF, Storytek_ Accelerator is now accepting applications for its second cohort, inviting creative and media/film-tech entrepreneurs wishing to participate in the 10-week acceleratorprogram starting in March and ending in late May. 

Up to 10 companies will be chosen to attend the program, from there a handful of the best teams will get an opportunity to become a part of the Storytek_ residency program.

Apply HERE!

Berlinale Talents is very proud to announce the selection of 250 filmmakers - 128 women and 122 men - from 80 countries for the 16th edition of Berlinale Talents. In our most recent press release you’ll find more info about some of the exciting talents, famous alumni such as David Lowery and links to the Talent profiles/projects.

We are very happy to let you know that there are three Talents attending Berlinale Talents, who are currently working and living in Poland: the producer Marta Lewandowska, the director Michal Szczesniak, whose “Starting Point” and the production designer Małgorzata Karpiuk who was responsible for the visual look of Lukasz Ronduda’s “Serce Miłości.” Two Polish Talents currently reside in Germany: the director Ewa Wikieł and Weronika Adamowska. Adamowska is a distributor of acclaimed films such as “De sidste mænd i Aleppo” (The Last Men of Aleppo), which won 17 prizes – among them the Jury Prize in the “World Cinema – Documentary” category at the Sundance Film Festival – and “Raving Iran.”

Together the 250 Talents will participate in an intense six-day programme featuring around 100 events with internationally renowned experts and acclaimed Berlinale guests holding workshops and talks, many of which are open to the public. Berlinale Talents takes place at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer, February 17-22, 2018. The complete Berlinale Talents programme will be online on February 6, 2018.

For interview requests with a Talent, please contact Sara Könemann and Alicia Breitfeld This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +49 (0)30 25920- 260 / 245. For accreditation requests for Berlinale Talents events and interview requests with an expert, please contact Marie Ketzscher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +49 (0)30 25920- 518.

The Cinémathèque Française in Paris is hosting one of the biggest projects presenting Lithuania’s national cinema, a two-week long film retrospective which opens today. It also marks the launch of a cycle of events in France to celebrate the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania's statehood. The French cinema-going public will have the chance to explore the most extensive programme of Lithuanian film put together in recent years, covering several generations of filmmakers and a variety of genres and styles.

The retrospective of Lithuanian cinema at the Cinémathèque Française consists of selections of documentary shorts from the 1990s, contemporary features and animated films as well as titles from the classical canon of national cinema; over 30 films in total. The programme puts a spotlight on two most accomplished Lithuanian film artists, Jonas Mekas and Sharunas Bartas. Interestingly, the Lithuanian-born icon of American avant-garde cinema, Mekas, has himself picked the films he wants to show and will participate in the events in Paris. On Monday, the retrospective is opening with Sharunas Bartas’ latest film Frost which is starting its run in cinema theatres around France.

The event is organised by the Lithuanian Film Centre in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in France.

Caroline Maleville, programmer at the Cinémathèque Française who has put together the retrospective, talks about Lithuanian cinema, its distinctive language, attributes and transformations with journalist Marielle Vitureau.

Before you threw yourself into programming the retrospective, had you seen any Lithuanian films?

I knew very little of Lithuanian film, except for the two great figures in modern cinema, Sharunas Bartas and Jonas Mekas, who both have, in their respective genres, created powerful and aesthetically remarkable bodies of work. Jonas Mekas in particular has a special place as an exiled filmmaker in the United States as well as a leading figure in underground cinema thanks especially to his work in diary films. I had little opportunity to see any other Lithuanian production which is difficult to come by in France and is only screened in festivals.

The Cinémathèque presents a retrospective of Lithuanian cinema from its beginnings to recent works. Is there a consistency to the Lithuanian output? What are the marked features of Lithuanian cinema?

What is striking, beyond the fact that Lithuanian cinema has been shaped by its Soviet heritage, is a poetic vision that attaches itself to important visual explorations and runs across very different periods: the 1960s with Feelings (Algirdas Dausa and Almantas Grikevičius, 1968) or The Beauty (Arūnas Žebriūnas, 1969), the 1990s with Audrius Stonys' Earth of the Blind and Antigravitation, Arūnas Matelis' Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus, Sharunas Bartas' In Memory of the Day Gone By, until today with The Summer of Sangaile (Alantė Kavaitė, 2015).

Five filmmakers have accepted our invitation to come and discuss their films with the public: Sharunas Bartas, Audrius Stonys, Arūnas Matelis, Alantė Kavaitė and Jonas Mekas. Each one will present and help explore different currents and periods in Lithuanian cinema. Audrius Stonys, Arūnas Matelis and Sharunas Bartas will speak together about the documentaries they have made which marked the renewal of Lithuanian cinema in the 1990s. Similarly, Alantė Kavaitė, the author of The Summer of Sangaile, will present a very beautiful film, The Beauty. I am very curious to know what that film means for her and how it could have contributed to her own desire of becoming a filmmaker. We have also asked her to pick any film and she chose Manji by Yasuzô Masumura, a Japanese film which resonates with the sensuality of The Summer of Sangaile. The meeting with Jonas Mekas will evidently be a powerful moment, allowing the public to understand and approach Lithuanian cinema from a different angle, through form as well as his point of view as an expatriate filmmaker.

Could you explain what you mean by visual explorations? How do they show on film?

Clearly, they manifest differently in each filmmaker, but we often see exploration in how they compose the frame or move the camera. It is the case in, for example, The Beauty. Meanwhile Sharunas Bartas concentrates on immobility and long takes. Alantė Kavaitė's films could represent a synthesis of both approaches in her precise and at the same time lyrical mise-en-scène.

Why have you decided to single out Jonas Mekas and Sharunas Bartas in the retrospective? Paradoxically, they are relatively little-known in Lithuania. The force of their films lies in their original cinematic language. What influence do their works carry today?

Sharunas Bartas and Jonas Mekas are absolutely the most identifiable figures of Lithuanian cinema and enjoy wide recognition abroad. Even though each has created a very personal narrative and formal universe, we could see in their films a reflection on temporality coupled with extensive and original work on image and sound. In this regard, one could suppose that Bartas' films, even though he is still quite young, could have influenced Sergei Loznitsa, for example. He himself was probably influenced by filmmakers like Béla Tarr, Andrei Tarkovsky or Alexander Sokurov, the latter two being fellow graduates of VGIK, the National Institute of Cinematography in Russia. The sources of inspiration for Jonas Mekas are more diverse, but directors working extensively in the genre of diary film, say, Rémi Lange or Jonathan Caouette, have definitely seen his work.

The Lithuanian “national” cinema had its momentum during the Thaw period in the Soviet Union after 1968. Two films shown here would not be screened anywhere outside Lithuania, not even in the rest of the USSR (Feelings and Saduto Tuto). Do they still possess their subversive character?

One can understand why, in the context of the era, such strong and nonconforming characters as we see in Feelings and Saduto Tuto could have seemed problematic. Today, in a different political environment, their subversive charge is less striking, yet in the body of films that I've been able to see such characters are rare enough to be remarkable.

This period is also one of liberation in the West. Do you see any similarities between Lithuanian and Western production? Could one feel Western influences in Lithuanian cinema?

It is hard to say, since the Lithuanian aspect – or, more widely, Eastern European – of these films is quite strong. Still, one does sense in them formal liberty that is not without equivalent in the new French or Italian cinema of the time.

Lithuania is known for its poetic documentaries that have garnered a number of awards in film festivals in the early 1990s. What is remarkable about these films? Has the style of these filmmakers attracted any followers?

Again, the most outstanding feature of these films is their poetic power and visual splendour which serve to articulate reflections on the human condition through characters at once rough and fragile. In the end, they are quite recent films and, as they have had little exposure abroad, except for those of Bartas, it is difficult to see whether and how they have influenced other filmmakers.

A new generation of filmmakers have come of age. Could the themes explored in Lithuanian films, their cinematic qualities be interesting to the world?

I've had the pleasure to discover a part of contemporary Lithuanian cinematic production in all its forms – short and feature, animation, documentary and fiction – and I think that the programme at the Cinémathèque will showcase its vitality and great diversity. I didn't get the sense that there is one leitmotiv or an aesthetic common to all these young filmmakers. On the other hand, a great desire to open up to the world is perceptible in many.

A feature many of them share is an aesthetic legacy with a documentary and poetic imprint still present in the films like Mariupolis by Mantas Kvedaravičius or I'm Not From Here by Giedrė Žickytė and Maite Alberdi. I have also seen more mainstream films marked with stronger influences of Western cinema, be it in their genre qualities – thriller, science fiction – or aesthetics, but I found them less relevant and decided not to include into the programme.

Programme of Lithuanian film retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française:

Jonas Mekas
Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, 1971–1972
Lost Lost Lost, 1976
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, 2000
Lithuania and the Collapse of the USSR, 2008

Sharunas Bartas
Three Days („Trys dienos“), 1991

The Corridor („Koridorius“), 1994

Few of Us („Mūsų nedaug“), 1996

Frost („Šerkšnas“), 2017

Lithuanian Classics

Feelings („Jausmai“) by Almantas Grikevičius, Algirdas Dausa, 1968

The Beauty („Gražuolė“) by Arūnas Žebriūnas, 1969

Saduto Tuto („Sadūto Tūto“) by Almantas Grikevičius, 1974
The Devil’s Bride („Velnio nuotaka“) by Arūnas Žebriūnas, 1974
Children from the Hotel “America“ („Vaikai iš „Amerikos“ viešbučio“) by Raimundas Banionis, 1990

Documentary Short Films of the 1990s
In Memory of the Day Gone By („Praėjusios dienos atminimui“) by Sharunas Bartas, 1990
Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus („Dešimt minučių prieš Ikaro skrydį“) by Arūnas Matelis, 1990

Earth of the Blind („Neregių žemė“) by Audrius Stonys, 1992

Antigravitation („Antigravitacija“) by Audrius Stonys, 1995

Contemporary Feature Films
Vortex („Duburys“) by Gytis Lukšas, 2009
The Summer of Sangaile („Sangailės vasara“) by Alantė Kavaitė, 2015
Together For Ever („Amžinai kartu“) by Lina Lužytė, 2016
Mariupolis by Mantas Kvedaravičius, 2016

Contemporary Short Films
The Balcony („Balkonas“) by Giedrė Beinoriūtė, 2008
Our Father („Tėve mūsų“) by Marius Ivaškevičius, 2010
The Noisemaker („Triukšmadarys“) by Karolis Kaupinis, 2014

I'm Not From Here („Aš čia tik svečias“) by Giedrė Žickytė, Maite Alberdi, 2016
The Camel („Kupranugaris“) by Laurynas Bareiša, 2016
Back („Namo“) by Gabrielė Urbonaitė, 2016

Contemporary Animation
Grandpa and Grandma („Gyveno senelis ir bobutė“) by Giedrė Beinoriūtė, 2007
Guilt („Kaltė“) by Reda Tomingas, 2013

Woods („Miškas“) by Ignas Meilūnas, 2015

Ragnarok („Nuopolis“) by Urtė Oettinger, Johan Oettinger, 2016

Last Stop Is the Moon („Paskutinė stotelė – Mėnulis“) by Birutė Sodeikaitė, 2017