A Strong Lineup of Lithuanian Documentaries Heads to the Baltic Sea Docs

This year, the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries will feature a standout presence of Lithuanian filmmakers. The industry program will showcase an upcoming documentary on a renowned photographer, alongside five film projects exploring themes of personal drama, masculinity, faith, and the search for identity.

Held annually in Riga since 2005, the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries, Baltic Sea Docs, is the only event of its kind in the Baltics, bringing together over 150 professional filmmakers each year from the Baltic Sea region, as well as from Eastern and Central Europe.

Participation in the forum offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to secure funding for their projects and ensure that their films reach a wider audience across Europe. The event includes project pitching sessions, workshops, and seminars. Alongside industry-focused activities, the forum also presents a documentary film program, accessible in Riga and other major Latvian cities.

This year, a total of six Lithuanian works will be featured in the industry program. Among them is Under the Red Light (dir. Joris Skudra, prod. Justė Michailinaitė, Broom Films), which tells the story of one of Lithuania’s most famous photographers, Romualdas Požerskis. The film captures Romualdas’ transformation – from a photographer to a human being. It portrays the highs and lows of an artist’s life, exploring what lies beneath the trophies, the titles, and the rest of the noise. Currently in post-production stage, the film is set for a world premiere this fall, with a Lithuanian release planned for next spring.

Other projects featured at the forum are currently in development or production. Among them is director Gailė Garnelytė’s Rita (prod. Akvilė Žilionytė-Khan, Artišokai), which tells the story of a 37-year-old woman who, despite living with disability, poverty, and the tragic loss of her husband to suicide, tries to remain a devoted mother. The film not only delves into her personal hardships but also exposes the gaps in the social system, revealing how little support exists for those living on the margins. Through it all, Rita’s courage, resilience, and love for her children shine brightly against the backdrop of her harsh reality.

One of Lithuania’s most acclaimed documentary filmmakers, Audrius Stonys, will present his latest project, Brides of the Invisible (prod. Marija Stonytė, Mantas Kazlauskas, Ūkų Studija, co-prod. Vita Želakevičiūtė, Drygas Film Production, Poland). The film follows Sister Sofija on a journey to discover holiness in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Her path crosses with that of Sister Jurgita, a nun working at the National Cancer Institute in Vilnius. Together, their stories reveal distinct yet deeply interconnected ways of seeking the presence of God in today’s world.

Meanwhile, RepairMan, directed by M. Stonytė (prod. M. Stonytė, A. Žilionytė-Khan, M. Kazlauskas), is a documentary adventure-drama following a man on a quest for self-healing as he seeks to break free from his past. One day he fixes washing machines; the next, he takes part in shamanic ceremonies or loses himself in dance. Will these experiences lead him closer to true freedom, or become just another form of escape?

Another project, Maria Is On TV (dir. Viktorija Mickutė, Ieva Balsiūnaitė, prod. Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, Danielė Kunčinaitė, Just a Moment), traces the experiences of Lithuanian women from different generations on a journey that begins in the first decade of independent Lithuania, a time when Mexican telenovelas took over TV screens and became intertwined with viewers’ hopes, heartbreaks, and triumphs. Three decades later, the film’s protagonists revisit those narratives, reflecting on the stories that shaped their childhoods, adolescence, and lifelong dreams.

The forum will also feature the DNA of the Nation (dir. Ivan Sautkin), a co-production between Ukraine (prod. Ivanna Khitsinska, Babylon‘13) and Lithuania (prod. Ringailė Leščinskienė, co-prod. Arturas Jevdokimovas, Zero Copy Reel). The film centers on Mykhailo Baidakov, who lives in the Chernihiv region and believes he is a direct descendant of Taras Shevchenko, intending to prove it with a DNA test. But how will Shevchenko’s relatives and followers – who have turned the poet into a cult figure – respond to such a revelation?

In the accompanying documentary film program, audiences will have the opportunity to see Giedrė Beinoriūtė’s film On Sacred and Profane (prod. Jurga Gluskinienė), which transports to a secluded village in Samogitia, where residents celebrate Easter and preserve a vanishing ancient tradition.

Also featured will be Girls Don’t Cry, directed by Sigrid Klausmann (Germany) and Lina Lužytė, revealing the stories of six teenage girls from South Korea, Germany, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Chile, who long for freedom and self-determination, want to fall in love and have power over their own bodies.

The Baltic Sea Docs industry program will run from August 31 to September 5, with film screenings scheduled from September 2 to 7.

On the cover – a still from Under the Red Light.