The film written by Saulė Bliuvaitė tells the story of martial arts champion Osvaldas, who is expelled from the federation after accidentally hitting a girl. No longer able to participate in tournaments, Osvaldas spends his days in a cheap "China Sea" restaurant owned by a Taiwanese immigrant. When he convinces his former mentor to grant him a second chance, he takes a job as a martial arts coach for teens and proves to be good at it until the past catches up with him.
"This film is a tragedy and Osvaldas is a symbol of both individual and collective aggressions of the 21st century. This is the tragedy of most men, including myself, who grew up in a place where tolerance was not part of education and many of us have since struggled to learn it. I want the viewer to feel the rawness of Osvaldas' character down to the flesh and bones, to be repulsed by what he has done, but also to see his tragedy as one suffered by a human lacking the basic knowledge of how to interact with others. Under his brutal and masculine facade hides a child yearning for emotional closure," says film director Jurgis Matulevičius.
The main cast consists of Marius Repšys, Severija Janušauskaitė, Jag Huang and Vaidotas Martinaitis.
The film is produced by Ieva Cern through Film Jam (Lithuania) in coproduction with Marta Gmosińska through Lava Films (Poland), Jakub Kostal through Bionaut (Czech Republic) and Amy Ma through Ma Studios (Taiwan).
The Lithuanian Film Centre, the Polish Film Institute, the Czech Film Fund and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) supported the project.
The budget is approximately 1.5 m EUR.
The 35 shooting days are taking place in Lithuania, Poland and Taiwan till the end of December 2023. Polish cinematographer Bartosz Świniarski is lensing.
The date of completion is the autumn of 2024.
Jurgis Matulevičius’s debut feature, the Holocaust drama Isaac / Izaokas ( Film Jam) was Lithuania’s candidate for 2022 Oscar nomination in the best foreign-language film category.
Production Information:
Producer:
Film Jam (Lithuania)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducers:
Lava Films (Poland)
Bionaut (Czech Republic)
Ma Studios (Taiwan)
Credits:
Director: Jurgis Matulevičius
Screenwriter: Saulė Bliuvaitė
DoP: Bartosz Świniarski
Production designer: Nerijus Narmontas
Main cast: Marius Repšys, Severija Janušauskaitė, Jag Huang, Vaidotas Martinaitis
