Lithuania at the Cannes Film Festival: Highlights and Industry Presence

The 78th Cannes Film Festival – a major highlight of the film industry calendar – kicks off today. Featured in the festival’s prestigious main competition is the Two Prosecutors, directed by Sergei Loznitsa, a co-production of Lithuania. Running alongside the festival is the Marché du Film, one of Europe’s leading film markets, which brings together thousands of film professionals from across the globe – including a strong Lithuanian presence.

An Important Premiere at the Main Competition

In early April, the Cannes Film Festival revealed the films selected for its prestigious main competition. Among the works by prominent American and European filmmakers is the Two Prosecutors, the latest feature from renowned Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa.

Loznitsa is a familiar name in Lithuania, known for his impactful documentaries and feature films such as Maidan (2014), A Gentle Creature (2017), State Funeral (2019), Mr. Landsbergis (2021), and The Natural History of Destruction (2022) among others.

Two Prosecutors is a co-production between France, Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia, Romania, and Lithuania. Co-produced by Studio Uljana Kim, the film features contributions from various Lithuanian creatives, including production designer Jurij Grigorovič, sound designer Vladimir Golovnitski, editor Danielius Kokanauskis, and actors Vytautas Kaniušonis, Nerijus Gadliauskas, Valentin Novopolskij, Dmitrij Denisiuk, Vygandas Vadeiša, Valerijus Jevsejevas, and Lukas Petrauskas.

Spotlight on Selected Talents

Each year, European Film Promotion hosts the Producers on the Move program during the Cannes Film Festival. The initiative aims to bring together up-and-coming European producers and potential co-production partners, expand their professional networks, and create a strong platform for the next generation of European filmmakers.

This year, Klementina Remeikaitė (afterschool) has been selected as one of the 20 most promising producers in Europe. She is already well known across the continent for her work on Laurynas Bareiša’s films, including Pilgrims (2021), which won Best Film in Venice’s Orizzonti section, and Drowning Dry, a film that received multiple awards at the Locarno Film Festival last summer and earned 12 nominations at this year’s Silver Crane awards.

Last fall, director Eglė Razumaitė was selected for the Cannes Film Festival residency program La Résidence, which annually invites only 12 filmmakers from around the world. She is the first Lithuanian ever to participate in the more-than-two-decades-old initiative, which supports emerging talents in developing their debut or second feature films.

During Cannes, all La Résidence participants will pitch their latest projects at the CNC pavilion in Cannes to an audience of professionals and a jury. E. Razumaitė, together with producer Uljana Kim, will present the project Signal Path, for which the director wrote the screenplay during her four-an-a-half month residency in Paris.

The festival also features the New Producers Room program within the Short Film Corner | Rendez-vous Industry, which helps short film producers get more acquainted with international co-production opportunities. Each year, 10 producers are selected to participate.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Lithuanian short film agency Lithuanian Shorts is nominating a producer from the Baltic region for the program – selected from past participants of the Baltic Pitching Forum held in Vilnius. This year’s representative is Lithuanian producer Ieva Černiauskaitė (Con Artist), who pitched the short film project Suez, directed by Martynas Norvaišas, at the 2024 edition of the forum.

More Lithuanian Presence at Marché du Film

As traditionally, more Lithuanian film industry professionals will take part in the Marché du Film, exploring co-production and networking opportunities. For the 15th time, the Lithuanian national stand will unite the country’s film community, where representatives from the Lithuanian Film Centre will present the latest updates and developments in the local industry.

Producer Rūta Jekentaitė (Baltic Productions) will join the Cannes Docs program as part of the Baltic delegation. This initiative focuses on documentary film producers looking to promote new projects, build international connections, and enhance their visibility within the global documentary film industry. Alongside director Elena Kairytė, she will present the film Dolce far Niente.

All three Baltic countries will also be represented in the Goes to Cannes program, which highlights works in various stages of post-production. The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has selected two Lithuanian films for the lineup: Oblivion by Danielius Minkevičius (prod. Ieva Norvilienė, Tremora) and Danka by Dovilė Gasiūnaitė (prod. Artūras Dvinelis and Juliana Miliut, Filmai LT).

Producer Marija Razgutė (M-Films) has been invited as an expert in the impACT Lab program, which gathers international film professionals to lead mentoring sessions and workshops focused on creating meaningful and impactful films.

In a special session based on forecasts powered by the AI platform Largo.ai, producer Kęstutis Drazdauskas (Artbox) will present the project Black List, directed by Jivan Avetisyan, while producer Greta Akcijonaitė (Magic) will showcase Cold, directed by Daumantas Petronis and Tiago Guedes. The event will explore how AI tools can help assess a film’s potential, target audience, and narrative strengths and weaknesses.

On the cover – a still from the Two Prosecutors.