This year we are more than happy to announce that Vilnius IFF has signed a long-term partnership contract with the new principal partner, ERGO insurance group. The partner assures that they are going to support not just the festival in general, but also its main, competition programme “New Europe – New Names”.
Debut of Georgia
The nominees for the main prize and festival statuette are thoroughly selected by evaluating the film‘s artistic value and topicality. Therefore Vilnius IFF once again offers us just the best works of filmmakers from Eastern and Central Europe.
“It was especially difficult to set the festival’s competition programme this year, some countries had 4 or 5 valid candidates but we could select no more than 2,”- says the artistic director of Vilnius IFF Santa Lingevičiūtė. “The jury, I believe, will not avoid long discussions, when they’ll have to decide which film is the best. All the films are equal competitors worth the main award and festival statuette”.
For the first time in festival‘s history the competition programme will include a Georgian filmmakers work. Their film “Keep smiling”, directed by a young filmmaker Rusudan Chkonia tells a story based on true events about the backstage of a beauty contest, which in the end becomes nothing but a fight without rules. This work together with others coming from Romania, Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Slovakia and Lithuania will compete for the main prize of 7 000 Eur. and festival statuette.
From bankrupting Romanian factories to teenage pregnancy and kids of Sarajevo
For the grand opening of the programme “New Europe – New Names” there was chosen a Romanian film “Of Snails and Men“, which is the most visited Romanian film of all times. Tudor Giurgiu, the director, tells a story of a small town, where people are struggling to save the main source of their incomes – the single one and already bankrupted factory in the town. Collaborating with Serbia and Germany, Ukraine will present a work of a young director Daria Onyshchenko - “Eastalgia”, a film about three different love stories. Particularly straight there will be talking about teenage pregnancy in a Polish movie “Baby blues” directed by Kasia Roslaniec, which is a shocking, but still vivid piece of work. Another Polish director, Sławomir Fabicki, will present his new film “Loving“, which will reveal us different shades of love. Also among the nominees there is a debut film of Serbian director Miroslav Terzic - “Redemption street”, a story about a complex situation after the Balkans war. While Marian Crisan, a director from Romania, comes back to Vilnius IFF competition programme already with his second work – “Rocker”. Bosnia-Herzegovina this year will present 2 films: a sore issue analysing film “Children of Sarajevo” by Aida Begic and the fate of emigrants depicting work “Krivina” by Igor Drljaca. Also this year the competition programme includes an originally told spy-story by Bulgarian director Emil Christov – “The color of Chameleon”, a work by Slovakian Mira Fornay – “My dog Killer”, and the last film of Lithuanian director Kristina Buožytė - “Vanishing waves”.
The 18th Vilnius International Film Festival will be held on the 14-28th of March. Its competition programme “New Europe – New Names” films descriptions and trailers can be found on official festival website: http://kinopavasaris.lt/en/films
About festival:
Vilnius international film festival (Vilnius IFF) “Kino pavasaris” is the biggest and most important cinema event in Lithuania. It was established in 1995 and because of the screening only thoroughly selected and worldwide acknowledged works by both cinema professionals and simple cinema lovers has achieved a name as the most visited and respected festival in Baltic states. Already for the 18th time held festival features not only high quality and good taste cinema, but also serious discussions, meetings with famous Lithuanian and foreign filmmakers, various educational projects and original topical events.
