Record Number of Lithuanian Films and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Juozas Budraitis at the PÖFF

This year, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will showcase as many as twenty Lithuanian films, seven of which will have their world premieres. During the festival’s opening ceremony, actor Juozas Budraitis, who celebrated his 85th birthday in October, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Making its world premiere in the Baltic Film Competition, Borderline by Ignas Jonynas (produced by Rūta Jekentaitė and Martynas Mickėnas, Baltic Productions) tells the story of Vilius, an ornithologist haunted by guilt and loss, who becomes entangled in a dangerous smuggling scheme that forces him to confront his past and reconnect with his daughter. The film stars Šarūnas Zenkevičius, recipient of the European Shooting Stars Award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Also competing in the Baltic Film Competition are The Visitor by Vytautas Katkus, Renovation by Gabrielė Urbonaitė, Hunger Strike Breakfast by Karolis Kaupinis, The Activist by Romas Zabarauskas, and a Lithuanian co-production Becoming by Zhannat Alshanova.

The Visitor follows Danielius, who returns to his Lithuanian hometown after years in Norway to sell his parents’ house, finding himself caught between past and present. Having had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it received the Best Director Award, Katkus’s debut feature was produced by Marija Razgutė and Brigita Beniušytė (M-Films) in co-production with Norway and Sweden.

Another Karlovy Vary premiere, Renovation, marks Urbonaitė’s feature debut. The film portrays 29-year-old Ilona, whose seemingly perfect new life begins to unravel when apartment renovations start and she forms an unexpected bond with Oleg, a Ukrainian construction worker. The film was produced by Uljana Kim (Studio Uljana Kim), together with co-producers from Latvia and Belgium.

Set in the early 1990s, Hunger Strike Breakfast follows Daiva, a news anchor who loses her job when Russian soldiers seize the TV station. Together with several peers, she launches a hunger strike to reclaim it. The film, produced by Marija Razgutė with co-producers from the Czech Republic and Latvia, premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival.

Celebrating its international premiere, The Activist (produced by Romas Zabarauskas and Gabrielė Misevičiūtė, Naratyvas) depicts a young printing house worker Andrius – portrayed by last year’s Black Nights Stars programme participant Robertas Petraitis – who discovers his activist boyfriend Deividas murdered. Frustrated by the indifference of society and the police, Andrius takes justice into his own hands.

Becoming tells the story of 17-year-old Mila from Kazakhstan, who finds belonging in an open-water swimming team led by the enigmatic coach Vlad (played by Valentin Novopolskij). When her place on the team is threatened, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect it. The film was made by an international team from France, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Sweden, with Marija Razgutė as co-producer and Brigita Beniušytė as associate co-producer.

Presented in the same programme out of competition is Two Prosecutors by Sergei Loznitsa, a French-German-Dutch-Latvian-Romanian-Lithuanian co-production (Lithuanian co-producer: Uljana Kim). Having premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, the film examines human helplessness in the face of a relentless totalitarian regime.

Selected for the Critics’ Picks Competition is China Sea, the second feature by Jurgis Matulevičius, which will have its world premiere at the festival. After accidentally injuring a girl in a street fight, martial arts champion Osvaldas is banned from competition and spends his days at his Taiwanese friend’s restaurant. When he tries to rebuild his life as a coach and falls for a mysterious woman, his violent past resurfaces. The film is produced by Ieva Cern (Film Jam), in co-production with partners from Taiwan, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

The Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition will feature Holy Destructors by Aistė Žegulytė, Laguna by Šarūnas Bartas, A Goodnight Kiss by Giedrė Žickytė, and two world premieres: BIX Almost Nirvana by Emilis Vėlyvis, and Scarecrows by Latvian director Laila Pakalniņa, a Lithuanian co-production.

Coming to Tallinn from its IDFA premiere, Holy Destructors is a poetic documentary about fungi that reveals the remarkable work of bio-archaeologists and restorers. Produced by Uljana Kim and Migla Butkutė in co-production with France and Latvia, the film reflects on humanity’s futile struggle against decay, reminding us that destruction is a prelude to renewal.

In Laguna, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival’s independent section Giornate degli Autori, Šarūnas Bartas confronts the loss of his daughter Ina Marija. Travelling with his youngest daughter to Mexico’s Pacific coast, he revisits the place where Ina Marija spent her last holiday with him. The film was co-produced with France, with Lithuanian producers Šarūnas Bartas, Alina Lu, and Jurijus Stančikas (Studija Kinema).

Director and producer Giedrė Žickytė returns with an international premiere of A Goodnight Kiss, a heartfelt portrait of Irena Veisaitė – Holocaust survivor, theatre scholar, and human rights advocate. Co-produced with Estonia and Bulgaria, the film is both a personal tribute and a timeless reminder of how compassion and intellect can shape the world.

Known for his action comedies, Emilis Vėlyvis turns to creative documentary with BIX Almost Nirvana (producers Uljana Kim and Saulius Urbonavičius, exec. prod. Vaiva Martišauskaitė). The film reunites the legendary rock band BIX, formed in 1987, capturing their rebellious spirit and recalling the era when they once shared the stage with Nirvana.

Latvian director Laila Pakalniņa’s Scarecrows, co-produced by Giedrė Žickytė (Moonmakers), reveals the unseen world behind every take-off at Riga Airport. Shot across four seasons, the film finds beauty in routine and tension in progress, where nature and technology coexist in fragile balance.

Featured in the International Youth Competition Programme by Just Film – the Youth and Children Film Festival of PÖFF – is the world premiere of Dovilė Gasiūnaitė’s They Call Me Danka, produced by Artūras Dvinelis. Adulthood is difficult – especially at fifteen. Forced to be the grown-up in her family and constrained by circumstances that limit her potential, Danutė learns to survive by turning responsibility into her only protection.

This year, the festival will also honor Juozas Budraitis, one of Lithuania’s most distinguished film and theatre actors, who recently celebrated his 85th birthday, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. To mark the occasion, two films – both world premieres – will be screened in Special Screenings.

One of them, Old Man’s Journeys by director and philosopher Nerijus Milerius (producer Stasys Baltakis, Film Jam), is a reflective documentary weaving together Budraitis’s cinematic roles and life memories into a single stream of recollection.

The second, Sand in Your Hair by Mantas Verbiejus (producer Živilė Gallego, Fralita Films), tells the story of Malvina, a former ballerina who rediscovers love and freedom after meeting Kipras, a painter her age. The film, which also features Juozas Budraitis, celebrates resilience, independence, and the courage to defy expectations.

In the Old Gold: Classic Films Come to Life programme, dedicated to restored film heritage, audiences will be introduced to Andrius (1980) by Algirdas Araminas – a poetic tale about a ten-year-old boy with a pure and trusting heart whose imagination offers refuge from reality.

Three films will be presented in the short film programmes. In the Shorts Live-Action Competition, Rytis Dringelis’ film Weekend (produced by Karolina Motiejūnaitė, R. Dringelis, Simona Jurkuvėnaitė, and Gantas Bendikas) will compete, while Augustė Gerikaitė’s Glitter Kiss (produced by Lineta Lasiauskaitė, Plopsas) will be featured in the Shorts New Talents Competition: Live-Action. The Night Cinema programme will include Feet Up, a Finnish-Lithuanian co-production directed by Olli Ilpo Salonen and co-produced in Lithuania by Alvydas Kaškonas and Laura Kazbaraitė (Feel Reel).

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will take place from 7 to 23 November.

On the cover – a still from the Old Man’s Journeys.