Lithuania's Contender for the Oscar - Marija Kavtaradze’s film "Slow”

The committee approved by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Lithuania, which selects the nominated movie for the Oscars, has decided that Marija Kavtaradze's film Slow be submitted for the prestigious award. 

The films selected for Oscar nominations will be announced in December, and until then Lithuanian viewers will be able to see for themselves why the movie is getting so much attention in the world: on the 22nd of September the film is coming to many movie theatres in the country.

‘The film reveals a challenging, unique, and  intimate approach to relationships – it's a film about love that manages to survive despite unexpected difficulties. There are all kinds of unwritten standards in European cinema – I like that Marija manages to bypass them in an original way and tackle some important topics. The director finds non-standard, original heroes – they are complex, convincing and, to be honest, they haven't been seen on the screen very much yet’, says the Lithuanian film critic Izolda Keidošiūtė. Marija is also very good at discovering really good actors – you can feel a simply enchanting chemistry between the main characters.’

‘In the fall, the film will travel not only through Lithuania, but also through the USA at the same time: Slow will be presented in various cities, which are preparing screenings of contenders for the Oscars. Experienced local partners will help us reach those several thousand members of the Academy, whose votes will decide who will go to the next stage of the Oscars selection’, says the film's producer Marija Razgutė.

After screening in Lithuania, Slow will be further evaluated by the members of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who will evaluate candidate films from all over the world. On December 21st the Academy will announce the five finalists for the Academy Award for Best International Film. 

Since its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance (USA) festival, the film Slow has already toured international festivals in Istanbul (Turkey), Sydney (Australia), Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), Taipei (Taiwan), Atlantida (Mallorca, Spain), "New Horizons" (Wrocław, Poland), Durban (Republic of South Africa) film festivals, as well as the upcoming international film festival "Love and Anarchy" in Helsinki (Finland), the BFI London Film Festival, and this is just the beginning. The European Film Academy also selected the film for the list of works competing for European Film Awards nominations.

In the intimate love story Slow , Elena, a modern dancer, meets Dovydas, a sign language interpreter. As a tender connection develops between them, Dovydas and Elena begin to get closer to each other and the platonic relationship gradually turns into a romantic one. When Dovydas reveals that he is asexual, the two are determined to find their intimacy together – to discover their own way of creating a relationship.

This film is the second full-length work of Marija Kavtaradze. Her first film Summer Survivors, had its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and after receiving acclaim at home, the film travelled many international festivals, won audience and jury awards, and was acquired by Italy, Latvia, Albania, Slovenia and television in other countries, as well as home theatre platforms in the United Kingdom and the United States.