The festival which takes place in Kaunas until October 11 and in Vilnius, October 12-18, encourages the viewers to accept film as the form of art which makes people think, ask questions and look for answers to those questions.
"Film that answers questions" - is an invitation to take cinema seriously, considerately choose films, look for more than just entertainment, analyse and come up with personal interpretations of films. The film does not end with the closing credits. When we walk out of the screening hall, we take good films with us and they live in our thoughts as memories, discoveries or simply fascinating pieces of art," believes Ilona Jurkonytė, director of Kaunas Film Festival.
"Viewers will find a wide range of films in the programme of the festival: some will see our films as a way of escaping reality for a moment; some will be fascinated by aesthetical images, while others will choose films that speak of relevant issues - music, art, travelling, adaptation, growing, and dreams. But each and everyone would acknowledge that our films are different because they give answers to questions," said Tomas Tengmark, producer of the Festival's programme. "All we have to do is prepare our own questions and to look for answers in the films."
The festival's volunteers turned this idea into a game: there is a board of "Questions & Answers" in "Romuva" film theatre where the main programme of the festival is screened - the festival's visitors can share their questions there. The Q&A board also serves as a space for the reviews of the festival's visitors - the questions left by the viewers convey the spirit of the films and the mood of the audience.
In the middle of the week, Kaunas Film Festival continues its carousel of good films that are full of crazy music, experimental social reality, mysteries of art, and Icelandic jokes.
Today, in the evening of October 6, "Romuva" film theatre will be crowded by the fans of the film aesthetics virtuoso Peter Greenaway - his Nightwatching will be screened at 8 pm. The film tells about the Dutch painter Rembrandt, his personal and professional life as well as his famous work "The Night Watch", the mystery of which has been capturing the attention of fine art historians from the whole world trying to solve the peculiarities of the painting. The filmmaker knowingly intertwines the mystery line of the film with Rembrandt's dramatic life and creates a gripping story about real events that happened several ages ago. The film does not only serve as a fine arts history lesson, but is a true piece of art itself.
The film titled The Sense of Architecture from the festival's programme section All the Muses will start Wednesday afternoon. The film introduces examples of modern architecture, related by social reality where buildings are designed to fulfil all the needs of our lives. Can architecture construct spaces that serve as intermediates between the human flesh and idea? The answer lies in the 3-dimensional collage titled The Sense of Architecture.
The most delicate feelings of the viewers will be touched on Wednesday by the musical film Wild Combination: The Portrait of Arthur Russell - a visually enchanting portrait of Arthur Russell, a composer, singer, artist, cellist and producer, created just before his unexpected death from AIDS in 1992. It is a very touching and heartbreaking story.
Wednesday night, at 6.45 pm, Kaunas Film Festival will screen Sólveig Anspach's film Back Soon, which continues collecting awards all over Europe. The Icelandic comedy tells about a 40-year-old mother of two kids, a pot dealer and an underground poet, Ana Hallgrimsdottir, who decides to quit the dealing business. However, she makes an opportunity of selling her phone with the phone numbers of her return clients. The story gains momentum when Ana leaves her house to meet a potential client after putting a note "Back soon" on her door.
Full programme of the festival can be found at http://www.kinofestivalis.lt/. Tickets:
1-11 October, "Romuva" theatre, Kaunas: 14 Lt per ticket; 12 per ticket when buying 5 tickets at a time; 10 Lt per ticket when buying 10 tickets at a time (ticket distributor in Kaunas "Bilietų pasaulis").
12-18 October, "Pasaka" theatre, Vilnius: 12 Lt per ticket; 10 Lt for seniors and the disabled; 8 Lt for the members of the film club (1-year membership 50 Lt).
More information: Vilma Venckutonytė, tel. +370 682 55507, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; festival's website http://www.kinofestivalis.lt/.
