“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the Lithuanian Film Centre for the inaugural Bridge to the North initiative. This new endeavour aims to forge connections between the Southern and Northern countries, fostering cultural exchange and paving the way for exciting co-production opportunities. As part of this collaboration, the Lithuanian delegation will actively participate in all the programs offered by AGORA, the industry section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. AGORA has been dedicated to promoting the Southeastern European and Mediterranean film industry since 2005, and Bridge to the North represents a one-of-a-kind opportunity to facilitate cross-cultural exchange and cultivate innovative synergies”, Angeliki Vergou, director of AGORA, says.
In partnership with the Lithuanian Film Centre, a Lithuanian delegation of producers, directors, distributors and film programmers will be attending all AGORA activities and be also participating with their own projects and talents giving us the opportunity to diversify the project selection further and allowing us to open to new stories and genres coming from a completely different territory.
The project The Great Inquisitor by film director Marat Sargsyan was selected for the Crossroads Co-production Forum, which received a development grant from the Lithuanian Film Centre. The producer of the project is Klementina Remeikaitė (production company Afterschool), who will participate in the forum. The Thessaloniki - Locarno Industry Academy Call program will be attended by Dovilė Grigaliūnaitė, programmer of the International Film festival Kino pavasaris, film director Eitvydas Doškus, winner of the Lithuanian National Film Award for the best short film of the year 2023, is invited to the Agora Short Film Lab, producer Dagne Vildžiūnaitė is invited to the Agora - Series program, dedicated to series.
AGORA also pays considerable attention to discussions and public meetings. In the program AGORA Talks the producer of film SLOW Marija Razgute will share her experience about the opportunities and challenges of co-production. The director of the Lithuanian Film Centre Laimonas Ubavičius and the Head of the Film Production Department Irma Šimanskytė will also take part in the AGORA Talks program. The debut of the talented Lithuanian film director Austėja Urbaitė REMEMBER TO BLINK (producer Živilė Gallego, production company Fralita Films) which won the Lithuanian National Film Award for the best Lithuanian feature film of the year 2023 will be shown in the program of the International Thessaloniki Film Festival. The EWA mentorship program will also take place during AGORA, to which Lithuanian producer Rūta Petronytė (production company Smart Casual) is invited.
The presentation of Lithuania as a guest country in AGORA is organized by the Lithuanian Film Centre in cooperation with the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
