Set in a southeastern Ukrainian town, occupied by Russia in modern times, the story focuses on Andriy, a 35-year-old Ukrainian priest. His church, once a haven for the faithful, is turned into a morgue. Tasked with guarding the bodies of executed Ukrainian civilians, Andriy defies the orders by secretly returning the bodies to their families. As winter approaches and frozen ground makes burial increasingly difficult, Andriy must choose between resistance, abandoning his faith and duty, or facing death. Unexpectedly, a bond forms between him and 11-year-old Makarov, a witness to his defiance.
“Russia's war against Ukraine strengthened values and changed professional orientations. In addition to Lithuanian film production, we started intensively implementing joint production projects with Ukrainian filmmakers, presenting the latest Ukrainian films to Lithuanian audiences, and strengthening opportunities for professional cooperation. Such a position allows not only to support the process of documenting and presenting the reality of war, which is politically and historically important for Ukrainians, but also to strengthen the diversity of cinema from an artistic point of view. Spring appears as a strong artistic film project that gives a human face to the war, and the crumbling reality of Europe and the world”, producer Stasys Baltakis told FNE.
Kęstutis Cicėnas, who won the Lithuanian Silver Crane award for Best Leading Actor in 2024 for Marija Kavtaradze’s Slow / Tu man nieko neprimeni (Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, produced by M-Films and coproduced by Frida Films and Garagefilms) will play the lead.
"It's the story of a character sacrificing his own life to preserve evidence of the war crimes committed against his country. Recent political events have only reinforced our need to see this cinematographic project through to the end, and above all the urgency of undertaking it, led by a culturally and financially strong European coproduction. At a time when certain leaders seem to have abandoned human rights in favor of money and the profitability of exploitable resources (setting these up as the supreme laws dictating world order), it's more important than ever for us to put the human back at the centre, and that's what Spring is all about”, producer Helena Pokorny also told FNE.
Spring is produced by Stasys Baltakis through Lithuanian Film Jam and Helena Pokorny through French Matka Films, in coproduction with Vitalii Sheremetiev through Ukrainian Esse House and Jean Bréhat through French Tessalit Production. The project was supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre with 400,000 EUR, the Lithuanian tax incentives with approximately 180,000 EUR, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television with 7,000 EUR, Région Nouvelle Aquitaine with 110,000 EUR, and Département de la Charente with 50,000 EUR.
The estimated budget of the film is 1.2 m EUR.
The film will be shot in Lithuania and, if is possible, also in Ukraine for one week. The preliminary planned shooting dates are 15 October – 20 November 2025.
If all clicks the way the project team is planning, the premiere of the film will be taking place at the Cannes Film Festival.
Rostislav Kirpičenko was born in Lithuania. As a child, he returned to Ukraine with his family. There he began a career as a professional footballer, which he abandoned in 2016, when he moved to Paris to study literature and film directing at la Fémis.
Production Information:
Producers:
Film Jam (Lithuania)
Stasys Baltakis: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Matka Films (France)
Coproducers:
Tessalit Production (France)
Esse House (Ukraine)
Credits:
Director: Rostislav Kirpičenko
Screenwriter: Rostislav Kirpičenko
DoP: TBD
Starring: Kęstutis Cicėnas
