VILNIUS: Ashes in the Snow / Tarp pilkų debesų by Marius Markevičius became the highest grossing release of all time in Lithuania, with more than 265,000 admissions and more than 1.3 m EUR gross. The US/Lithuanian coproduction outperformed James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar.

It has been a great year for the Lithuanian film industry. The expenditure on film production reached a total of 27 m EUR, with more than 5 m EUR coming from local businesses.

VILNIUS: The acclaimed Lithuanian director Šarūnas Bartas is currently shooting a new historical drama In The Dusk / Sutemose, focusing on the Lithuanian partisan war, which took place after WWII. The release of this Lithuanian/French/Serbian/Latvian/Czech/Portuguese coproduction is planned for the spring of 2020.

VILNIUS: Five Lithuanian shorts, four Estonian shorts and two Latvian shorts vied in the New Baltic Cinema competition of the European Film Forum Scanorama, which opened on 8 November 2018.

VILNIUS: Giedrė Žickytė from Moonmakers is representing Lithuania at Jihlava IDFF's Emerging Producers programme. FNE spoke with Žickytė about the current situation for documentary filmmaking in Lithuania.

VILNIUS: Lithuanian director Lina Lužytė began shooting her second feature film The Castle / Pilis on 28 June 2018. The coming-of-age drama is the first Lithuanian/Irish coproduction.

VILNIUS: American Film Institute graduate Tomas Vengris, the son of Lithuanian immigrants living in the US, has begun postproduction on his debut feature Motherland / Gimtinė.

VILNIUS: Eglė Vertelytė‘s feature film Miracle / Stebuklas won four awards, for the Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Script, at the 11th Lithuanian Film and TV Silver Crane Awards held on 13 June 2018.

VILNIUS: The Lithuanian historical psychological drama Isaac directed by Jurgis Matulevičius will wrap shooting at the end of April 2018.

VILNIUS: The Danish psychological drama Winter Brothers directed by Hlynur Pálmason received the main prize in the newly established European Debut competition of the 23rd edition of the Vilnius Film Festival Kino Pavasaris, held from 15 to 29 March 2018.