The festival, held for the 55th time in Tampere, Finland, is one of only three A-class short film festivals recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), alongside Clermont-Ferrand and Oberhausen festivals. Tampere Film Festival annually attracts around 30,000 visitors, 800 accredited film industry professionals, and screens 400 films from around the world over five days.
Lithuania’s participation in the Tampere Film Festival is not only a unique opportunity to present a diverse array of Lithuanian films – spanning various genres and historical contexts – to Northern European audiences and the international film community but also represents one of the largest focuses on the country’s short films at an international festival in the past decade.
“The invitation for Lithuania to be the guest country at this festival is a significant recognition that the Lithuanian film community can truly be proud of. The Tampere Film Festival is the largest short film festival in Northern Europe, annually presenting content with the highest aesthetic, ethical, stylistic and narrative qualities. We are delighted that the festival chose to showcase such a large variety of Lithuanian short films, offering both festival-goers and international industry representatives a glimpse into the multifaceted world of Lithuanian short cinema,” said Rimantė Daugėlaitė, head of the Lithuanian short film agency Lithuanian Shorts, a partner of the initiative.
This year, three specially curated Lithuanian film programs will feature the short films of experimental director Artūras Barysas, shot on 16 mm film, as well as works by new-generation directors Vytautas Katkus and Laurynas Bareiša, and films by Lithuanian female directors.
Artūras Barysas (1954–2005) was one of the most prominent figures of the country’s counterculture movement, who used a distinctive ironic voice to expose the social norms of Soviet-era Lithuania through his experimental films and musical works. Festival-goers will be able to see 18 of his short films created in the 1970s and 1980s, from THE FALL (1971) to OBVIOUS BUT UNBELIEVABLE (1982).
The festival will also showcase works by Vytautas Katkus and Laurynas Bareiša, two of the most talented and rapidly rising directors, who have recently gained significant recognition on the international film stage. The special program will feature Katkus’s films COMMUNITY GARDENS, PLACES, and CHERRIES, as well as Bareiša’s BY THE POOL, DUMMY, and CAUCASUS.
The third program will highlight the work of Lithuanian female directors, including six films made between 2018 and 2024. Festival participants will get to see Marija Stonytė’s ONE LIFE, Birutė Kapustinskaitė’s MOTHERS, Milda Augustaitytė’s NUMBER ONE, Jorūnė Greičiūtė’s IT’S ALRIGHT, Skirmanta Jakaitė’s THE JUGGLER, and Eglė Davidavičė’s THE ONE WHO KNOWS.
“A few years ago, two Lithuanian directors – Vytautas Katkus and Laurynas Bareiša – emerged into the short film arenas and achieved great success at film festivals. Their films have something peculiar and original that we outsiders can call, in want for a better term, the Lithuanian new wave. At Tampere Film Festival, we wanted to look into Lithuanian film a bit closer and perhaps also penetrate the mentality of Lithuanians,“ shared Jukka-Pekka Laakso, director of the Tampere Film Festival.
Lithuania’s name will also be visible in the festival’s competition programs. In the International Competition program, which received nearly 8,000 submissions, audiences will see the experimental film TANGLED WOOL directed and produced by Aušrinė Kurgonaitė. Meanwhile, the National Competition program will feature the Finnish-Lithuanian co-production FEET UP (dir. Olli Ilpo Salonen), produced by Laura Kazbaraitė (Feel Reel). Also, this year, one of the International Competition program’s jury members is Gabrielė Cegialytė, executive director of the Vilnius Short Film Festival and project manager at Lithuanian Shorts.
The festival will also have industry events focusing on Lithuanian cinema. David Ellis and Lijana Jakovlevna Siuchina, curators of Artūras Barysas’s film program, will discuss what constitutes experimental cinema. Meanwhile, Rimantė Daugėlaitė, head of the Lithuanian Shorts and the Vilnius Short Film Festival, will participate in a discussion on the significance of festivals and international awards for small countries.
The Lithuanian film focus at the Tampere Film Festival is organised in collaboration with the Lithuanian short film agency Lithuanian Shorts and the Lithuanian Film Centre. It is also a part of the Lithuanian Culture Institute’s program Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025, which aims to showcase Lithuania’s contemporary artistic achievements.
