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23-09-2010

Winner of this year’s “Palm d’Or” to be screened in Kaunas International Film Festival

    The 4th Kaunas International Film Festival will introduce its visitors to a number of worldwide critically acclaimed films. This October, audiences in Kaunas and Vilnius will have an opportunity to see films that have won the recognition of major film events, including the Cannes and Venice film festivals, namely Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul), Lebanon (dir. Samuel Maoz), Adrienn Pál (dir. Ágnes Kocsis), Heartbeats (dir. Xavier Dolan).

    The festival's programme offers a unique opportunity to see this year's Palm d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by the Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It is a story about uncle Boonmee - who is seriously ill - and who can, in fact, remember his past lives and takes his loved ones down his memory lanes. The international jury of the Cannes Film Festival was enchanted by the magical, mysterious and inspiring film, which is based on local Thai stories and beliefs reflecting reincarnation and human connection to nature.

    The viewers of Kaunas Film Festival will also have an opportunity to become acquainted with the extraordinary work of the 21-year-old Xavier Dolan. This year, the young author from Canada showed his second film at the Cannes Film Festival and received a standing ovation as well the Prix Regards Jeune. The drama Heartbeats (Les Amours Imaginaires) is a story about an unconventional love triangle involving young people, growing passion, and the struggle for attention - all of which is depicted as stylishly as can be. The film's original score has a lot of potential to gather a cult. Film critics say that the young filmmaker's style follows in the footsteps of Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar, and Jean-Luc Godard.

    Samuel Maoz's film Lebanon (Levanone) - winner of the "Golden Lion" at the Venice Film Festival in 2009 - will transport the viewers straight into the middle of an uncompromising war. The film is based on the filmmaker's own experiences in the Lebanon War at the age of 20. Maoz was traumatised by these experiences so deeply that it took him 25 years to find the inner strength make this film. It is a story about a war machine that can instantly turn ordinary boys into merciless killers.

    Kaunas Film Festival invites the viewers to see the film Adrienn Pál by the Hungarian filmmaker Ágnes Kocsis. This director is one of only three female filmmakers who have presented their films at the official selection of Cannes Film Festival this year, where Adrienn Pál won the FIPRESCI Prize. The film will take the viewers on a journey of self-knowledge. The audience will see the story of a lonely nurse, Piroška, who is determined to find her childhood friend. It is an unconventional road movie - a trip trough a complex society, and the lives and fates of people from different social layers.

    "Kaunas Film Festival is extremely pleased to bring you internationally recognised films that are being screened in film festivals all over the world", said Tomas Tengmark, producer of the Festival's programme. "Films awarded in Cannes - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Adrienn Pál - will only be screened in Kaunas."

    The 4th Kaunas International Film Festival will take place on October 1-17 in "Forum Cinemas" film theatre in Kaunas, and in "Pasaka" and "Skalvija" in Vilnius. For more information about the festival please visit www.kinofestivalis.lt


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    Gintarė Kavaliūnaitė
    Public relations | Ryšiai su visuomene
    Kaunas International Film Festival | Tarptautinis Kauno kino festivalis
    +370 610 05056 | www.kinofestivalis.lt | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |