Five Lithuanian Films Set to Screen at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Five Lithuanian films are set to screen at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. This year marks the festival’s 60th edition as well as the 80th anniversary of its founding.

The Special Screenings section will host the world premiere of Morten, an Estonian-Lithuanian youth film directed by Estonian filmmaker Ivan Pavljutskov.

The film follows fifteen-year-old Morten, who lives with his uncle while his mother works abroad. Ashamed by his surroundings, he finds refuge in photography. When two girls unexpectedly enter his life and their stories become intertwined, Morten embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

The film’s Lithuanian co-producer is Živilė Gallego of Fralita Films. The Lithuanian creative team also includes editor Ričardas Matačius, composer Titas Petrikis and sound designer Jonas Jocys.

The Horizons section, showcasing some of the most notable contemporary films, will present Andrius Blaževičius’s How to Divorce During the War, produced by Marija Razgutė of M-Films. The film received the Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

A co-production between Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland and the Czech Republic, the film is set in Vilnius in 2022. Marija, a high-ranking executive, tells her husband Vytas that she wants a divorce only a few hours before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The couple must navigate their separation at a time when nothing is certain anymore and their life is drastically changing.

The festival’s Afterhours section, dedicated to recent horror and action films that approach genre conventions in new and often humorous ways, will screen Nightborn, directed by Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm. The film is a co-production between Finland, Lithuania, France and the United Kingdom.

Saga and her husband John move to a remote house in the woods where she spent her childhood, hoping to build the perfect family. After their long-awaited son is born, Saga begins to realise that something is wrong with him, while strange and increasingly inexplicable events begin to unfold inside their home.

The film’s Lithuanian co-producer is Artūras Dvinelis of Filmai LT. Nightborn had its world premiere at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

Lithuanian filmmaker and screenwriter Marija Kavtaradze will also take part in the festival as a member of the Proxima Competition jury.

Director Arnas Balčiūnas, meanwhile, has been selected for Future Frames: Generation NEXT of European Cinema, a programme spotlighting some of the most promising emerging European directors who have recently graduated from film school.

The initiative brings together ten young filmmakers for a programme of professional development, industry meetings and networking opportunities. Participants will also present their short films at the festival. Balčiūnas will screen Past the Hill of Napoleon’s Hat, a short film exploring the relationship between a father and son.

Another Lithuanian short, Adas Burkšaitis’s Left-Handed Pen, will screen as part of Pragueshorts at KVIFF. The film centres on a mathematics teacher who discovers that her son has performed poorly in an exam and asks how far a mother is willing to compromise in order to secure her child’s future.

Lithuanian literature will also be represented at the festival’s industry platform, KVIFF Promises. This year sees the launch of Book-to-Screen at KVIFF, a new initiative bringing together the publishing and audiovisual industries and presenting literary works with strong potential for film or television adaptation. Among the selected titles is Ieva Dumbrytė’s 2021 novel Aspic Bistro.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will take place from 3 to 11 July.

On the cover – a still from Morten.