Upon hearing her beloved grandmother is dying, a young woman returns to rural Lithuania, where she must confront the past she has tried to forget. Šarūnas Bartas unflinchingly examines family fractures, capturing unspoken tensions and simmering resentments within an isolated rural household.

The script was penned by Croatian scriptwriter Ognjen Svilicic together with Šarūnas Bartas.

"My entire life, from early youth, has been dedicated to cinema. The reason I’ve always made films, especially this one, is because human life moves, fascinates, and saddens me. Real people, not performed or acted. Just as they are, complex and full of contradictions. That sense of surprise and wonder has never left me. People both inspire and sadden me, and that’s why my films often focus on marginalised people who are, in a sense, ‘pushed out of society.’ Though time changes me and expands my view of humanity, that original childlike amazement has stayed. And as long as I feel it, I will keep making films about people", director Šarūnas Bartas told FNE.

The principal photography began in 2020 with Ina Marija, the daughter of Šarūnas Bartas, in the lead. Her sudden and tragic death in April 2021, caused by a drunk driver while she was cycling, brought the production to a painful standstill. In the aftermath, the film had to be reimagined: the cast was reassembled, and the story reshaped from the ground up.

The filming resumed later and was completed at the end of 2023. The film was shot primarily in the Giedraičiai district, a small village town near Vilnius. Many of the actors featured in the film are local residents, whose authentic presence lends the story a strong sense of place and intimacy.

"When we first began working on this project, co-writing the script together with Ina Marija, we envisioned a film about a young girl searching for her place in this cruel world. It was still the pre-COVID era, and we had no idea how profoundly the journey ahead would shift. Ina’s sudden death was a devastating tragedy not only for Šarūnas, but for the entire team. For a time, it felt impossible to continue. But we kept going. Discovering Neringa Puidokaitė, along with Rima Paškauskaitė and Rolandas Junevičius, felt nothing short of miraculous. Their performances, stripped bare, honest, and raw, became the soul of this story and the heartbeat of its emotional truth. It is through their courage and presence that the film found its strength, and that it resonates with the power it carries today", producer Alina Lu told FNE.

Back to the Family was produced by Šarūnas Bartas, Jurga Kaye, Jurijus Stančikas and Alina Lu through Lithuanian Studija Kinema and Janja Kralj through French KinoElektron. It was coproduced by Gints Grube through Latvian Mistrus Media, Tadeusz Król and Mateusz Szulc through Polish Cineline EDelivery, and Dariusz Jablonski, Izabela Wójcik and Violetta Kaminska through Polish Message Film.

The film was supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Lithuanian Tax Incentive, Aide aux cinémas du monde - Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, Institut Français, and the National Film Centre of Latvia.

The film doesn’t have a sales agent attached yet.

Production Information:

Producers:
Studija Kinema (Lithuania)
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KinoElektron (France)

Coproducers:
Message Film (Poland)
Cineline EdElovery (Poland)
Mistrus Media (Latvia)

Credits:
Director: Šarūnas Bartas
Screenwriters: Ognjen Svilicic, Šarūnas Bartas    
DoPs: Lukas Karalius, Šarūnas Bartas
Editor: Lucie Jego
Principal cast: Neringa Puidokaitė, Rima Paškauskaitė, Rolandas Junevičius