MARKET ANALYSIS 2020

VILNIUS: The Coronavirus pandemic was challenging for the Lithuanian film industry as limitations were imposed upon all culture and film events in the whole country.

Still, Lithuanian films of all kinds (feature, documentary, animated and short films) had their world premieres at internationally acclaimed festivals, including Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Leipzig, Venice, San Sebastian, Warsaw, DOC NYC, Tallinn, with the support from the Lithuanian Film Centre.

Total production expenses in Lithuania were 37,911,134 EUR, making 2020 the most profitable year for the tax incentive scheme since its launch. Lithuania saw the infection rate increase over October and November, but film production didn't come to a standstill and international projects arrived from Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and France starting August 2020. They include Netfix’s crime drama series Clark, and the Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) series Max Anger.

It was a successful year for Karolis Kaupinis's debut feature Nova Lituania, which triumphed at the Lithuanian Film Awards Silver Crane with six awards. The film was also chosen as Lithuania‘s entry for an Academy Award nomination in the Best International Feature Film category.

In 2020 the Lithuanian Film Centre appointed a new director, Laimonas Ubavičius.

PRODUCTION

Ernestas Jankauskas shot his new feature film I Am Fine, Thanks / Man viskas gerai, produced by Dansu, in 2020.

Fralita Films produced two films simultaneously - A Butterfly‘s Heart / Drugelio širdis directed by Inesa Kurklietyte and Family / Šeima directed by Austėja Urbaitė.

Kristijonas Vildžiūnas finished his fifth feature film Songs For a Fox / Dainos lapei, which was produced by Lithuania's Studio Uljana Kim in coproduction with Latvian Locomotive Productions and Estonian Eesti Joonisfilm.

Andrius Blaževičius shot his sophomore feature Runner / Bėgikė, produced by Lithuania’s M-films. 

Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa's new film was also in production in 2020. The archive documentary project The Natural History of Destruction / Natūrali naikinimo istorija is produced by Germany‘s LOOKS Filmproduktionen GmbH in coproduction with Lithuania‘s Studio Uljana Kim and Atoms & Void from the Netherlands.

A total of 25 new films of various lengths and genres were finished in 2020, including 11 feature films, 13 documentaries and one animated film.

The list of international productions which used the increased 30% tax incentive scheme in 2020 includes: the 4th season of the Netflix series Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers and serviced by Virtus Mediae; the Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) series Max Anger - With One Eye Open /  Neprarask budrumo, made in coproduction with UK-based Twelve Town, directed by Lisa Farzaneh and Jesper W. Nielsen and serviced by Paprika Filmai; the 2nd season of the Swedish crime drama The Truth Will Come Out / Tiesa vis tiek išaiškės directed by Hans Jörnlind and Aron Levander, produced by Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), coproduced by Discovery Networks Sweden and serviced by Ahil; the sci-fi Skylines / Horizontai directed by Liam O'Donnell and produced by M45 Productions, Hydraulx, Gifflar Films Limited Lipsync Productions, Fasten Films, and serviced by Cobaltas; the Swedish six-part Netflix series Clark directed by Jonas Åkerlund and serviced by Dansu; the war film The Forgotten Battle / Pamirštas mūšis directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., produced by Levitate Film and Caviar Films, and serviced by Artbox, the Finnish comedy Potato / Bulvė directed by Joona Tena, produced by Yellow Film & TV and serviced by Filmai LT; and the French film Kompromat directed by Jérôme Salle, produced by Super 8 Production, SND Groupe M6 and serviced by Virtus Mediae.

In 2020 foreign productions got incentives totalling 8,059,073 EUR.

COVID GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

In an attempt to compensate the issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film sector was provided with 6.2 m EUR funding by the Lithuanian Film Centre, which made Lithuania the only Baltic country to receive such a multifaceted support for the film sector.

Additionally, 475,080 EUR went for supporting 28 film projects in production, while 2,717,850 EUR were distributed to 63 new film and TV projects. After an evaluation of film events and festivals set to take place in 2020, further 88,270 EUR were provided to cover the expenses of 21 such events.

Part of the additional funding was dedicated to individual creators for writing and developing new screenplays, preparing publications and research on cinema works. A total of 118,800 EUR were granted to 48 authors.

In an attempt to reduce the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to cinemas and film distributors, one-off grants totalling 2.8 m EUR were also issued. The support reached 18 cinemas, which received 2.24 m EUR, while 12 film distribution companies received 560,000 EUR.

The Lithuanian Film Centre has also initiated the inclusion of film producers and film distributors in the list of companies compiled by the STI (State Tax Inspectorate Under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania). The listed companies are released from interest on arrears and tax recovery, and will be able to pay the taxes at the end of the state of emergency or to create a tax loan agreement.

DISTRIBUTION

A total of 272 films were screened in Lithuanian cinemas in 2020, compared to 383 in 2019.

A total of 13 new Lithuanian films were released in 2020, including Karolis Kaupinis's debut feature Nova Lituania, produced by M-films; Romas Zabarauskas gay romantic drama The Lawyer / Advokatas, produced by Naratyvas, and Lina Lužytė’s The Castle / Pilis, produced by Artbox in coproduction with Irish Samson Films.

The year 2020 was very good for Lithuanian films in festivals.

The Flood Won't Come / Tvano nebus directed by Marat Sargsyan and produced by Tremora, competed in the Film Critics’ Week at the Venice FF, while the short film Places / Miegamasis rajonas directed by Vytautas Katkus and produced by Afterschool was selected for the short film competition of the same festival.

Sharunas Bartas' In the Dusk / Sutemose was selected for the Official Selection of the 73rd Cannes Film Festival, but it was actually screened at the San Sebastian FF, which took 17 titles from the Cannes' selection. The film was produced by Lithuania‘s Studio Kinema in coproduction with France‘s Kino Elektron, Serbia‘s Biberche Productions, Latvia‘s Mistrus Media, Sirena Film from the Czech Republic and Portugal‘s Terratreme Filmes. In the Dusk was also selected for the Baltic Competition of the 24th Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).

The Spanish/Icelandic/Lithuanian coproduction Lobster Soup / Omarų sriuba directed by Pepe Andreu and Rafa Molé, and produced by Suica Films in coproduction with Rec Grabaketa Estudioa, Axfilms, and Studio Nominum, also had its world premiere at the San Sebastian FF.

A thematic retrospective organised within the San Sebastian FF, Eastern Promises. Portrait of Eastern Europe in 50 films, featured two Lithuanian films - Šarūnas Bartas’ Eastern Drift / Eurazijos aborigenas (2010), produced by Studio Kinema, and Kristina Buožytė‘s drama Vanishing Waves / Aurora (2013), produced by Tremora.

Motherland by Tomas Vengris won the Audience Award of the 2020 edition of ArteKino. It was produced by Lithuania's Studio Uljana Kim in coproduction with Latvia's Locomotive Productions, Germany's Heimat Hafen Films, and Greece's Faliro House.

The Camel by Laurynas Bareiša (2016), After Rave by Kamilė Milašiūtė (2014) and Youngblood by Marija Kavtaradzė (2013) were selected for the student film programme of the same festival, while the Lithuanian actress Aistė Diržiūtė was invited to the New Directors competition jury.

Laurynas Bareiša‘s Dummy / Atkūrimas, produced by Afterschool, became the first Lithuanian film that had its world premiere in the Berlinale Shorts programme.

Giedrė Žickytė's documentary The Jump / Šuolis, produced by Moonmakers and coproduced by Latvia‘s VFS Films, premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival, where it won the Best Documentary award.

Three Lithuanian projects participated in the Eastern Promises Industry Days of the virtual edition of the Karlovy Vary IFF. The Lithuanian/Norwegian project Burial directed by Emilija Škarnulyte and produced by Just a Moment, competed for the Eurimages Lab Project Award, while I Am Fine, Thanks / Man viskas gerai by Ernestas Jankauskas and Runner / Bėgikė by Andrius Blaževičius participated in the First Cut+ programme.

Roman’s Childhood / Romano vaikystė directed and produced by Linas Mikuta had its world premiere at the 63rd DOK Leipzig, where it competed for the Golden Dove.

After winning Best Documentary at the Warsaw FF, Giedrė Žickytė's The Jump / Šuolis, produced by Moonmakers and coproduced by Latvia‘s VFS Films and France‘s Faites un voeu, became the first Lithuanian film invited to the official selection of the Roma FF. The film had its North American premiere at the DOC NYC, where it won the Audience Award. The Jump was also selected for the Baltic Film Competition at the Black Nights Film Festival.

Lithuania featured as guest at the International Film Festival for Young Audiences Filem‘On in Brussels, where Lina Lužytė’s The Castle competed for the ECFA Feature Award and the Filem’On Teen Screen Award. Another six animated short films were in the programme: Ilja Bereznickas’s The Goat Luck, Bad Luck / Ne ožkoje laimė (2017) produced by Vilaminos Film Studio, Gediminas Šiaulys’s Running Lights / Kaukai (2014) produced by PetPunk, Rasa Joni’s The Tail / Uodega (2006) produced by Rasa Joni Art, Ignas Meilūnas’s Mr Night Has a Day Off / Pono Nakties laisvadienis (2016) produced by Ignas Meilūnas, Mainardas Valkevičius’s Look / Oo. (2017) produced by MeinArt, and Darius Jaruševičius’s Stop. The Kiss (2009) produced by the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts.

The restored Lithuanian classic The Girl and the Echo / Paskutinė atostogų diena by Arūnas Žebriūnas (1964, produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio) ran across French cinemas in 2020. The story of a girl and dreamy summer holidays screened in 16 cinemas in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille, Grenoble, Toulouse and other cities. The Lithuanian Film Centre has extended the cooperation with French ED Distribution for the distribution of the film in all the French-speaking territories in Europe. In 2018, the company successfully presented another Žebriūnas’ film, The Beauty / Gražuolė (1969, produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio), which was released on DVD with French subtitles.

Five Lithuanian cinema classics were presented on the newly launched platform Heritage Online by the Locarno FF in 2020: March! March! Tra-ta-ta / Marš ! Marš! Tra-ta-ta! (1964) directed by Raimondas Vabalas and produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio, The Girl and The Echo /  Paskutinė atostogų diena (1964) and The Beauty / Gražuolė (1969), both directed by Arūnas Žebriūnas and produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio; Woman and Her Four Men / Moteris ir keturi jos vyrai (1983) directed by Algimantas Puipa and produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio, and I No Longer Remember Your Face / Neprisimenu tavo veido (1988) directed by Raimundas Banionis and produced by the Lithuanian Film Studio.

VOD PLATFORMS AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION

Film festivals and film industry meetings, as well as film industry awards moved to the virtual space and TV screens in 2020, while many Lithuanian film premieres were postponed for 2021.

The Vilnius IFF became one of the first film festivals to switch to a digital format. The decision gave a boost to local VOD platforms, which streamed films 56,000 times. According to the research company Kantar, each screening was most often watched by two people, thus the number of viewers goes up to approximately 112,000. In comparison, the 2019 festival was attended by 126,000 filmgoers.

“Despite these numbers, we lost over half of our target ticket revenue, which is a significant financial blow“, said the executive director of the Vilnius IFF Algirdas Ramaška. A total of 69 percent of the programme, representing 118 films, made it onto streaming sites and on-demand TV.

Together with TV3, the Vilnius IFF launched the Aerocinema experiment, at the first drive-in cinema held at the Vilnius Airport, in the spring of 2020. The screenings, which used the largest outdoor LED screen in the Baltics, soon became a sensation in Lithuania and around the world, with over 400 stories in the media. Aerocinema later traveled to 20 Lithuanian cities, and 118 drive-in screenings were attended by approximately 13,839 cars in over three months.

The European Film Forum Scanorama opened in cinemas in Vilnius on 4 November 2020 and moved online to the Scanorama cinema platform three days later.

The number of Netflix users grew in Lithuania in the first half of 2020. According to a research conducted by the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK), Netflix ended the first half of 2020 with approximately 40,000 users in Lithuania, which was double than 12 months earlier. There were 7,000 Netflix subscribers in 2018.

EXHIBITION AND BOX OFFICE

There are 80 screens in Lithuania, which is still too small a number, according to the Film Centre, in order to provide access to films in smaller cities and given the total number of productions released.

The pan-Scandinavian Forum Cinemas, owner of the largest chain of film theatres in the country (76% of the market share), has six multiplexes with 40 screens, all fully digitalised since 2012. In 2016, Forum Cinemas joined the NCG group, which became a part of the global AMC/Odeon organisation belonging to the Wanda Group since 2017.

The Polish-owned multiplex Multikino, which opened in Vilnius in 2010, has seven screens with 1,673 seats. Baltic Multiplex Ventures, which is the owner of the Cinamon multiplex in Kaunas, invested 1.6 m EUR in its five screening rooms with over 1,000 seats.

Kino Pasaka, which was founded in 2009 as an art house film theatre in Vilnius, is still the only private art house cinema in Lithuania. In September 2020, the Pasaka cinema was opened in the new Paupis district of Vilnius.

Cinemas in Lithuania were closed from 16 March to 5 June 2020 due do the Coronavirus pandemic. They closed again starting 7 November 2020 until 31 January 2021. A few attempts to organise alternative film screenings did not replace the usual activities or the economic model of the sector.

Furthermore, local cinema operators are also dependent on the global market changes during the economic crisis. The film premieres called off in the USA and Europe greatly influenced the planning of cinemas’ activities.

Based on the data provided by cinema operators, the market experienced losses greater than 14 m EUR during the year 2020. Part of the losses was compensated by Lithuanian and European Union institutions, but the grants couldn’t offset all the losses.

Cinema attendance decreased between two and six times in different cinemas in Lithuania.

According to official statistics, total admissions in 2020 were 1.5 m and the total gross 8,473,000 m EUR, compared to 4.1 m total admissions and 22,495,000 EUR total gross in 2019.

The average ticket price in 2020 was 5.45 EUR.

The most profitable Lithuanian film at the box office in 2020 was the romantic comedy The Perfect Date / Tobulas pasimatymas directed by Robertas Razma, produced and distributed by Nord Play. The film was released on 3 January 2020 and had more than 146,815 admissions and 874,111 EUR gross.

Imported Groom / Importinis jaunikis directed by Simonas Aškelavičius, produced and released by Acme Film, had 115,283 admissions and 698,797 EUR gross since its premiere on 31 January 2020.

GRANTS AND NEW LEGISLATION

The Lithuanian audiovisual industry relies on funds from the Lithuanian Film Centre, private funds, coproducing with foreign companies, and pan-European film support initiatives such as the MEDIA Programme and Eurimages.

In 2020 the Lithuanian Film Centre appointed a new director, Laimonas Ubavičius. He was selected from the two candidates who received the highest scores in a competition organised by the Civil Service Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. Starting November 2020 Laimonas Ubavičius replaced Rolandas Kvietkauskas, who had managed the Lithuanian Film Centre since its launch in 2012.

The Lithuanian Film Centre was set up after an extensive lobbying by the Independent Producers Association of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union. It has had a huge impact on the local industry, which previously lacked a central body to represent it.

The Lithuanian Film Centre primarily finances film development, production, promotion and distribution in Lithuania.

In 2020 the Lithuanian Film Centre became a patron of the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA). With this new partnership, the LFC supports both the presence of its local members in the network and the initiatives organised by the EWA in Lithuania.

In 2018 the Lithuanian parliament approved a boost to the country’s film production tax incentive, increasing it from 20% to 30%. The new level took effect from 1 January 2019 and the legislation was renewed for a next five-year period.

The updated tax incentive is available for fiction films, TV films, documentaries and animated films. At least 80% of eligible film production costs must be incurred in Lithuania and the total amount of eligible spend in Lithuania has to be no less than 43,000 EUR. The incentives scheme is administered by the Lithuanian Film Centre.

In 2020 the Lithuanian Film Centre issued 154 Investment Certificates, representing a total amount of 11,288,347 EUR financial aid for filmmaking in Lithuania. A total of 58 films used the scheme: 12 foreign films, nine coproductions and 37 domestic films.

In 2019 the Lithuanian Film Centre issued 98 Investment Certificates, representing a total amount of 6,834,286 EUR financial aid for filmmaking in Lithuania, and 36 films used the scheme: eight foreign films, eight coproductions and 20 domestic films.

The total production expenses in Lithuania were 37,911,134 EUR in 2020, compared to 22,909,399 EUR in 2019, making 2020 the most profitable year for the tax incentive scheme since its launch in 2014.

In 2020, foreign productions got incentives totalling 8,059,073 EUR.

The Vilnius Film Office was established at the end of 2011. A public non-profit entity, the Kaunas Film Office was established in 2012 as a result of a joint effort between the Kaunas municipality and the Kaunas Cinema Studio. The Vilnius Film Office and the Kaunas Film Office are members of the European Film Commissions Network.

The seaport Klaipėda, located on the Baltic Sea coast in Western Lithuania, as well its region, offer a wide range of filming locations. More at: www.klaipeda-locations.com.

TV

Lithuania’s public broadcaster, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), operates three national television channels, three radio channels and an internet portal. It also provides satellite and live internet broadcasts, radio and television podcasts.

The Act amending the Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television came into force on 1 January 2015. This act bans commercial advertising on all LRT radio and TV channels, but provides more sustainable funding from the state budget. The assigned funding is based on the state budget revenues from the income tax and the excise revenues received in two previous years. Its operations are overseen by the LRT Council. LRT joined the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1993. LRT provides assistance to foreign broadcasting companies covering events in Lithuania.

TV3 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group (MTG, Sweden) and targeted at Lithuanian-speaking audience. It was launched in April 1993 as Tele-3, before becoming TV3 in June 1997. Now TV3 is the biggest commercial TV channel in Lithuania and brings entertainment for the whole family, offering locally produced shows, well-known international formats and the most popular sport events.

The TV6 channel was launched in 2002. It focuses on entertainment and high-profile sports events – the UEFA Champions league, comedy, horror, action films and exclusive content shows. TV6 is a Lithuanian terrestrial, satellite and cable television channel owned by the Nordic television company Viasat.

The TV8 channel, launched in 2011, is dedicated to women who want to enjoy their leisure time. It broadcasts cooking and lifestyle shows, fashion and female talk shows, romance films and series, as well as positive animation for children.

LNK TV, also known as Laisvas ir Nepriklausomas Kanalas (Free and Independent Channel), is one of the major commercial TV channels in Lithuania. It was founded in 1995 as part of MG Baltic Media. It has four sister channels: TV1, Info TV, Liuks! and BTV.

Lietuvos rytas TV is a Lithuanian entertainment channel founded in 2008 and airing approximately 55% international programmes.

In 2020 TV3 aired the 13th season of the most popular Lithuanian TV series Women Lie Better / Moterys meluoja geriau directed by Mykolas Vildžiūnas and Andrius Žiurauskas, and produced by Videometra. Women Lie Better is the most popular Lithuanian drama of all time and it is based on a novel by Daiva Vaitkevičiūtė. The series follows four young women and their love interests.

Also in 2020 LNK TV aired the third season of the criminal drama series Serious Deal / Rimti reikalai directed by Džiugas Siaurusaitis and produced by Urbs TV.

CONTACTS:

LITHUANIAN FILM CENTRE
Zigmanto Sierakausko g. 15, LT-03105 Vilnius
Phone: +370 5 213 0547
Director: Laimonas Ubavičius
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VILNIUS FILM OFFICE
Director: Jūratė Pazikaitė
Konstitucijos pr. 3-313
Vilnius, LT-09601
Phone: 85 211 2620
Mobile:. 8 614 04 696
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www.filmvilnius.com

KAUNAS FILM OFFICE
Darius Baltušis
Laisves av. 54, Kaunas, 44246
Phone: +37069837732
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www.kaunasfilmoffice.eu

KLAIPĖDA LOCATIONS
Anelija Juškevičiūtė
Phone:  +370 687 16001
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Report by Auksė Kancerevičiūtė (2021)
Source: Lithuanian Film Centre

PULA: The 58^th Pula Film Festival (9-23 July 2011 www.pulafilmfestival.hr) brings together the best in international film and a national programme of new Croatian films in its National Programme (16-23 July). The Croatian programme will showcase 19 films, ten Croatian films and nine Croatian minority coproductions.

This year for the first time the screenings in the famous Pula Roman era Arena will be digital The sponsor of the festival, the Zagreb-based company Audio Video Consulting, provided Barco's 2K projectors. The screenings in the Arena will also showcase the DP2K-32B projector, officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the brightest digital cinema projector in the world.

Five of the films in the National Programme section are based on based on screenplays approved through Croatian Audio Visual Centre (HAVC http://www.havc.hr/). There are also five independent productions which were granted financial support by the HAVC. There are six debutant directors, Daniel Kušan, Tomislav Žaja, Biljana Čakić Veselič, Aldo Tardozzi, Stanislav Tomić and Irena Škorić, in the company with their more experienced colleagues Dalibor Matanić and Dan Oki, and veterans Tomislav Radić and Branko Ivanda.

Three Croatian films star children - the historical Lea and Darija by Branko Ivanda, children's film featuring fantastic elements Koko and the Ghost by Danijel Kušan and Little Gipsy Witch by Tomislav Žaja. Then there are two dramas tackling the topics of love and family, Kotlovina by Tomislav Radić and Step by Step by Biljana Cakić-Veselič. We will also present three crime thrillers: Dalibor Matanić's psychological thriller Daddy, Dan Oki's noir Darkness and Aldo Tardozzi's Blurs, the war drama Josef by Stanislav Tomić and the comic erotic drama 7 seX 7 by Irena Škorić.

This year's Festival will also showcase as many as 13 films from the region, out of which seven in the Minority Co-Productions Programme: the Slovenian Piran-Pirano by Goran Vojnović and Good Night, Missy by Metod Pevec, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Belvedere by Ahmed Imamović, the Serbian The Enemy by Dejan Zečević, The White Lions by Lazar Ristovski and How I Was Stolen by the Germans by Miloš Mišo Radovanović, as well as the Montenegrin Local Vampire by Branko Baletić. Apart from the regional co-productions, there is also one with Denmark, Room 304 by Brigitte Staermose, and one with Germany, Max Schmelling by Uwe Boll.

Five films from the region compete in the International Programme: the Macedonian Mothers by Milče Mančevski, the Slovenian Silent Sonata by Janez Burger, as well as the Serbian Montevideo, God Bless You by Dragan Bjelogrlić, Cinema Komunisto by Mila Turajlić and Skinning by Stevan Filipović. The Slovenian film Going Our Way by Miha Hočevar will screen as part of the Children's Film Programme.

The are 20 films in the Short Films Programme that became competitive last year. Ten are by young female directors (Sonja Tarokić, Barbara Vekarić (2 films), Hana Jušić, Silva Ćapin, Kristina Vuković, Neda Radić (2), Ivana Škrabalo and Daina Oniunas Pusić), and ten by male directors (Jadran Puharić, Ivica Mušan, Neven Dužanec, Filip Mojzeš, David Kapac (2), Denis Lepur, Marko Stanić, Saša Dodik, Filip Šovagović and Josip Žuvan). Only two of the films have already been presented at the Days of Croatian Film. Most of the films tackle erotic themes and among them there is a group of short films produced by the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art and based on the short story by Tarik Kulenović entitled The Fucking Game that will be showcased together on the same night.

Retrospective of James Ivory Films

Following Pedro Almodóvar and Giuseppe Tornatore, the Pula Film Festival dedicates this year's retrospective in the set dedicated to renowned world film directors to American filmmaker James Ivory (Berkeley, California, 1928). The retrospective of this director of refined visual style, who has been working continuously and steadily for the last 58 years, and whose films are remembered for his detailed characters, perfectionist mizanscene and an impressive atmosphere, will include eleven films, representing his three most important phases of creation: the Indian, the British and the American phase. Together with Ismail Merchant, James Ivory founded the production company Merchant-Ivory in 1961. They were joined by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as a screenwriter. James Ivory films won six Academy Awards and he won three Best Director nominations.

The films will be screened at the Valli Cinema, with the exception of White Countess that will be showcased at Kastel, but also in Rijeka and Dubrovnik. Large number of films from this section will be screened also in Zagreb at the Metropolis Art House of the Museum of Contemporary Art

Films from Pula in Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Split, Bol and Šibenik

Films from the Pula Film Festival will be screened at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and the Split Summer Festival this year once again. Films from the main section of the National Programme, as well as selected titles from the International Programme, will be showcased also as part of the Rijeka Summer Nights Festival and Bol Summer Festival. The Šibenik Summer Festival will select the films from the minority co-productions programme.

New slogan and poster for the 58th Festival: Film under the stars

The slogan of the 58^th Pula Film Festival is Film Under the Stars. The poster for the Festival has also been presented. The author of the photography is Duško Marušić-Čiči, and the author of visual identity Dražen Tomić (KADAR Studio, Pula).
The National Programme of the 58^th Festival will run July 16-23 in the Arena and it will be announced at a press conference after the Pula Film Festival Council meeting in the second half of June. The International Programme will run July 9 - 23 and it will comprise 20 films selected from the most prestigious world festivals (Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Rome, etc.) to have their Croatian premiere in Pula.

Films from Cannes, Venice and Rome at the Pula Film Festival

The 58^th Pula Film Festival International Programme will screen a number of films selected from major international film festivals, as well as some of the most successful films from the region. From the Cannes Film Festival comes Olivier Assayas' crime thriller Carlos, winner of the Golden Globe award as a miniseries. In Pula we will have an opportunity to see the 165-minute version of the true story of the world's most notorious terrorist called Carlos, the Jackal. From the last year's Cannes Film Festival comes The Housemaid (Hanyo), a South Korean erotic thriller by Im Sang-soo.

Venice brings us Trophy Wife (Potiche), a French family comedy by François Ozon, starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. Venice also brings us The Double Hour (La doppia ora) by Giuseppe Capotondi, starring Ksenia Rappaport, who also starred in Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman. From the same festival also comes the German romantic drama Three (Drei) by Tom Tykwer (best known for his films Run Lola Run and Perfume) about a married couple who fall in love with the same person. Tilda Swinton stars in the Italian romantic drama I am Love (Io sono l'amore) by Luca Guadagnino, which also premiered in Venice.

The American romantic drama Last Night by Massy Tadjedin, starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes, opened the last year's Rome Film Festival. The Rome Film Festival also brings us the Italian thriller A Quiet Life (Una vita tranquilla) by Claudio Cupellini about an Italian crook whose quiet family life in Germany under a false identity is disturbed by the arrival of his son.

Another film coming from Italy is a romantic drama about adultery Come Undone (Cosa voglio di piu) by Silvio Soldini (well-known for his film Bread & Tulips), which premiered at last year's Berlinale. The Toronto Film Festival brings us Casino Jack, a Canadian crime comedy by George Hickenlooper, based on a true story about Jack Abramoff, a well-known American lobbyist who ended up behind bars.

Serbia brings us the biggest blockbuster in that country - Montevideo - God Bless You! (Montevideo, Bog te video) by Dragan Bjelogrlić, centred on a Yugoslav football selection preparing for the football championship in Uruguay in 1930. That country brings us another blockbuster, the thriller Skinning (Šišanje) by Stevan Filipović, centred on the phenomenon of neonacism among young people, especially among football supporters.

With this year's FEST critics' award and jury prize in hand comes the feature documentary film Mothers by Milcho Manchevski which screened at festivals in Toronto and Berlin. Slovenia brings us the winner of the Slovenian National Festival in Portorož Circus Fantasticus by Janez Burger, starring Leon Lučev.

National Programme

Croatian films and minority co-productions in 2011.

The National Programme of the 58th Pula Film Festival will be held from 16 to 23 July 2011. The National Programme consists of Croatian feature films and minority cooproductions.

We expect the following Croatian feature films supported by the Croatian Adioviusal Centre:
1) Lea and Daria by Branko Ivanda
2) Kotlovina by Tomislav Radic
3) Koko and the Ghosts by Daniel Kusan
4) The Little Gypsy Witch by Tomislav Zaja
5) Step by Step by Biljana Cakic-Veselic
and several independent productions.

Films shall be presented in the ancient Roman Arena, that can host up to 5000 spectators, and in the Cinema Valli, named after Pula born diva Alida Valli.

The Festival shall also screen the best Croatian shorts, pay tribute to the winners of Croatian film awards for life achievements, but also present excerpts from Croatian feature-length films in production (Work in Progress).

Pula Film Festival, founded in 1954, is the oldest and the most popular Croatian film festival (more then 73 000 spectators at the 57th edition).

Julie Taymor's version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest secured its place in the cinema history due to innovation: the main character is now a woman named Prospera. The helmer explained this twist in adaptation by a simple fact: she couldn’t find a male performer who’d be comparable with Helen Mirren. By the way the actress once mentioned that her first role happened to be Prospero’s servant Caliban. It’s hard to imagine, that refined Helen Mirren played this wild monster. Anyhow it was in her school years, and on professional stage she stepped as Cleopatra, which opened a long list of royal ladies who brought the actress a huge bunch of awards including Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe.

Her professional career launched at the peak of the sexual revolution, when manifested sexuality and naked bodies symbolized emancipation. Helen didn’t mind to exploit sexuality, but always on her own terms. She couldn’t be called a sex-bomb – thinness and ascetic face gained her advantage as satisfying a new iconographic canon which replaced Merylin Monroe’s hot trepidation with estranged ritual gesture of seduction. In Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief His Wife & Her Lover she played a posh woman with repressed by despotic husband sexuality, who gained her dignity through love affair and sexual experience with a suddenly met man, returning Georgina to life. “As you get older, naked stuff gets easier”, - she says. 14 years later in Calendar Girls Helen Mirren played some opposite type - a provincial housewife, provoking her elderly friends to issue a calendar with their naked photos as fund-raising for an ill husband.

Helen Mirren’s creation is closely bound up with Britain’s cinema often shocking bourgeois taste on the one hand and tightly connected with the classical traditions, first of all Shakesperian one, on the other. She also performed Shakespeare’s contemporary – Queen Elizabeth I. “Now, - she remarks, - it’s time when Russians play English queens”. The descendent of a Russian aristocrat, born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, she played queens a total of six times on screen – to say nothing of stage. It might be noted that her trademark is showing the royal grandeur without a trace of affected pompousness. They say her portrayal of Elizabeth II increased the queen's popularity; likewise countess Sofya Tolstoy recently performed by Helen in The Last Station opened a new page in our understanding of life and thought of the Russian genius. What is especially amazing in Helen Mirren’s performance is depicting iron-hard characters of visibly fragile, subtle women. This unique quality makes her strikingly forcible in the action parts as an extremely dangerous member of a killing squad in RED or a Mossad secret agent in John Madden’s The Debt, closing The Moscow International.

Nina Tsyrkun

First winners of the 33rd MIFF were announced on Saturday morning in "Khudozhestveny" cinema:

”Viewers’ sympathy” award was given to “MONTEVIDEO, TASTE OF A DREAM” (MONTEVIDEO, BOG TE VIDEO) by a Serbian director Dragan Bjelogrlic.

FIPRESCI jury awarded a film by Alberto Morais “THE WAVES” (LAS OLAS).

“Kommersant” magazine gave its prize to “HEART’S BOOMERANG” (SERDTSA BUMERANG) by Nikolay Khomeriki.

For the second time during the MIFF history NETPAC (The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) jury worked during the festival. The Association gave its award to “REVENGE: A LOVE STORY” (FUK SAU CHE CHI SEI) by Wong Ching Po. The film participated in Main Competition program.

Russian film critics gave first diploma to a Pole Feliks Falk for his film “JOANNA”. Their second diploma was given to “REVENGE: A LOVE STORY” (FUK SAU CHE CHI SEI).

Cinema clubs prize and diploma were given to a Bulgarian film “SNEAKERS” (KECOVE) by Ivan Vladimirov and Valeri Yordanov and CHAPITEAU-SHOW by Sergei Loban

Cinema clubs Special diploma was given to “JOANNA”

Cinema clubs awarded “UNDERCURRENT” (BRIM) by Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson from Perspectives and “ELENA” by Andrei Zvyagintsev presented in Russian program.

Special diploma of Cinema clubs was given to “SNOWCHILD” by Uta Arning

Competition
Dir. Wong Ching Po

The viewer who is at least superficially familiar with Asian cinema of the past decade will have no difficulty in taking the movie into its constituent parts which he has already seen elsewhere. The lovers – she is, to put it plainly, nuts, and to put it poetically, God’s fool, and he is a silent pauper – enjoy their toy festivities of love, merry-go-rounds, garlands of lanterns and toy pandas. Self-mutilation (of which peeling the skin from one’s fingers is the most innocuous) is abundantly offered by the most famous directors. Police stories with shoot-outs and chases along green slopes shot with spectacular slow-motion and fade-outs constitute Asian cinematic know-how. The movie is divided into five chapters persistently using the words “Devil” and “Armageddon” in their titles. It makes use of detective narration, so it is not fare to divulge the plot.

“Revenge” is constructed in such a way that it is not possible to make it sound interesting without disclosing its plot twists. And still you might get the desire to see the film, taking into account that it has been quite some time since the screen emanated such fury defending the little, frail, lost world of someone who cannot assimilate in society. And still if nobody interferes with him, he has the strength to stand on his own two feet, to feel happiness and face the world of harsh omnipresent and lawful violence, which is the equivalent of any known social conglomerates or institutions. This fury outpours into the sweetest images of revenge: pour petrol into the throat, fire into the mouth and watch your enemy burn from within. Were there ever more complete, thirst-quenching punishments of self-confident injustice on screen?

The plot of the movie was invented by the 27-year-old son of a Hong-Kong multimillionaire Juno Mak. From Wikipedia we can learn that at school he used to fall behind in all subjects from mathematics to physical education, had to retake the year’s course three times, squandered a million of father’s dollars on a house which he bought for his first girlfriend and that his singing career was accompanied by scandals, that he gets top listing in charts allegedly because his father buys out al his recordings and at Juno’s concerts he bribes the entire crowd so that they pretend to be his fans. When Juno acts he seems to explode. And it is so nice that there are people among the rich who look upon their situation as an exceptional one and do not consider themselves part of the horde of the chosen few. That they are ready and prepared to express the fury which the hangdog crowd cannot even feel, but which it is necessary to feel and pass on like a relay torch.

Alexey Vasiliev

American Translation
COMPETITON
Dir. Pascal Arnold, Jean-Marc Barr

A youth named Chris drives across France in a van, in which he also lives and sleeps, changing his only two shirts. But those are real party slim line shirts, one is yellow with red and blue flowers, the other is brown with cream stripes. He also suffers from the sweaty smell in his armpits when he happens to strangle someone in the forest. He would rather walk naked, which he gladly does, when the daughter of a wealthy American lets him stay in her apartment after a night of love. Gradually he will disclose and present to her all the constituents of his life: bisexual porn, group sex, laying gay guys and murders. In return he will ask her to marry him and teach him American. He does not understand the lyrics in those energetic songs of revolt and freedom he listens to in his car.

In the post-war French art the image of America as a road along which two young lovers are speeding, loving each other until the police do part them, is even more frequent than in America itself. “L'horloger d'Everton” is just about it and also about America. It was written by Georges Simenon in 1954, 13 years earlier than the American movie “Bonnie and Clyde” and even earlier than the appearance of James Dean. Moreover, it was transferred onto the French rural road in Tavernier’s “L'horloger de Saint-Paul” 20 years after the publication of the novel. The existential awakening experienced by Chris during murders and seductions, which appears again and again in the closing quotes from the studies on the psychology of serial killers, is that very crocodile tail, which cuts him off from the rest of the world, and which the sailor Querelle so happily felt each time he yielded to guys or cut their throats in the 1947 novel by Genet.

The actor Jean-Marc Barr to whom we owe probably the most beautiful male character of the 80s – the deep-sea diver Jacques Mayol in Besson’s “Le grand bleu”, turned to directing on the eve of the Millennium. In collaboration with Pascal Arnold they shot a trilogy about the impossibility of freedom in France (“Lovers”), the USA (“Too Much Flesh”) and India (“Being Light”). They adhered to the “Dogma” technique and worked as artisans, meaning that Arnold wrote scripts, Barr video-recorded and edited and the actors were often mingled with the usual crowd. In their new movie, however provocative it may seem, they are not free of traditions as authors. The 26-year-old Pierre Perrier («Douches froides», «Plein sud») as the protagonist is equally bound by the image of the eternal naked troubadour of sexual ambivalence. He was evidently accepted into the cartel after playing in Barr and Arnold’s “Chacun sa nuit”. In the new film Perrier did not only play the lead but also helped with the make-up and casting.

And there is something else. If something merits to become a tradition, it is exactly what the tradition cannot accept. i.e. the search for the route to freedom through the discovery of the points of freedom in the self-awareness of every unique and inimitable individual. This process is endless and to it the filmmakers made their contribution.

Alexey Vasiliev

Anarchy in Zirmunai (Anarchija Zirmunuose)
PERSPECTIVES
Dir. Saulius Drunga

The detective-like plot development is what fuels our interest in the movie, the title of which includes the word “anarchy” and the name of the dormitory district in Vilnius dating back to the late Soviet period. On the soundtrack we hear the phrase “Lithuanian mess” at least a couple of dozens of times. It is the only way to force outsiders to look into something they generally don’t want to hear about: mysteries, closed societies (which we are promised to be led into), hazards on the way to uncovering as yet unseen mechanisms. Everybody likes that.

In the opening sequence we see a frail youth with a big head on a thin neck photographed from behind. He is wearing a heavy spiked bracelet on his thin wrist. He runs up a few flights of stairs, rings a bell, demands rent from a young tenant. When it turns out that she can’t pay, she gets a blow between the eyes and we get the opening titles against the black background.

Next it is a hot summer day. We are in a sleepy suburban train heading to Vilnius through bucolic Lithuanian landscapes as we listen to the chatter of girls from the provinces and farms. The word “anarchy” is heard. One of the girls draws the menacing encircled “A” on the newspaper margins. The blond Ville, fed on fresh milk, stares at the “A”. She has cut off her tress and intends to enter the pedagogical institute in the capital. Her bag is filled with cans with mother’s jam and in solving the Zirmunuose mystery the letter “A” is our Miss Marple. If the detective-like structure is the locomotive, the actress Toma Vaskeviciute is the anchor of the movie. She is reminiscent of the young Di Caprio of the times of “This Boy's Life” and “What's Eating Gilbert Grape” not only in appearance. With her ironic squint and studied absent-minded look on her pretty face she signals the mental processes going on in the involuntary detective’s head and gives a wink to the viewer that now is the time to put two and two together. It goes without saying that Ville will rent that very flat, that the youngster will turn out to be a fidgety girl called Sandra who looks and behaves like a starved Annette Bening if the latter were to experience the tribulations of her characters from “In Dreams” “Hostage” and “American Beauty” all at once. Sandra will gradually let Ville on to the secrets of “Anarchy”, one of which is (straight from “Five Orange Pips”) the presence of one or more letters “a” in the spelling of the name, which lets you become a member of “Anarchy” and live under its protection.

I don’t feel like giving away the detective pot, but it is important to note that the peasant Ville will delve into the study of the subject deeper than she would have liked to, or than could have been imagined by girls and boys stitching the capital letter “A” on their jackets. She will go the Institute library and soon her flat will be filled not only with the guns and dollars stored by “Anarchy” members, but with copies of Che Gevara’s posters and Bakunin’s writings. The anarchy in Zirmunae will show its true wimpy face of deeply hurt children with too many hang-ups. Ville will watch it complete the circle – like a snake biting its own tale – with a mop in “McBurger’s”. Ville alone will learn what real anarchy is. A movie about the Lithuanian mess will turn out to be a familiar maxim relevant in any country and at any time that “knowledge is power”. That basic education and probably a pair of Ville’s sturdy peasant legs are necessary for a noble revolt instead of ridiculous outbreaks of hysterical misbehavior. And besides it also requires – as the movie will prove – at least one can of mother’s real home-made jam.

Alexey Vasiliev

Perspectives
Dir. Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson

It is rewarding to observe that the invigorating winds of political correctness have penetrated the territories which were earlier off limits to them. Like, for example, a frail Icelandic fishing vessel where the sturdy crew should be sure that a woman on board forebodes trouble. But far from it, the gloomy Icelandic fishermen do not throw the newly arrived lady into the first wave, like their less reserved colleagues would probably do. Moreover, when the skipper of the rusty boat bearing the dramatic name «Undercurrent», decides to replace one of the crew, who tragically left them during an earlier expedition, with his troubled niece, they do not show any particularly emotional reaction. Though, as this hot pussy avows, she has slept with half the village before boarding the ship. It is not quite that the presence of a woman strains the complicated (as it inevitably transpires) relations in the fishing crew, which gradually succumbs to claustrophobia and loneliness. The employee of the department of fish scraping toils as hard as men do and in the evenings stares at the TV set watching the porn blockbuster «Sperminator», kept on board as a preventive measure. The woman as a representative of a different world and a different life is not so much a catalyst as an observer of the disintegration of the male circle. Then misfortune really strikes: lights go out, some one gets hurt, some one else chooses to become fish fodder. But on the whole, the woman has nothing to do with it.

The best parts of the movie are the inspiring shots of the rusty boat swaying on the waves, the atmospheric scenes from the fishermen’s everyday life, contrastive night shots of the flock of sea-gulls vainly hovering over the torn net which is no longer suitable for catching fish and the transparent daytime shots of the same sea-gulls who are allowed to feed on fish insides. The colors of this exotic spectacle are a pleasure to look at. It must be noted that color patches in this movie are more interesting than the dramatic structure (the group scriptwriter of the film are members of the Reykjavík theatre company Vestuport, who also act in the movie) with flashbacks inserted in the wrong places and seemingly normal characters performing unmotivated antics.

Stas Tyrkin

Perspectives
Dir. Uta Arning

When there is a multi-storied parking on the screen, the viewer has good reason to expect a car chase in the near future and almost certainly there will be a shoot-out. In the same way a lonely hotel or house spells imminent death at the hands of a murderer, an evil spirit or as a result of a suicide. Like in Hideo Nakata’s “Incite Mill”, a Japanese equivalent of “The Haunting” by Jan De Bont. Like in Govorukhin’s “Ten Little Indians”. Like in Kaneto Shindo’s “The Owl”, where a mother and a daughter, living in the only remaining house in the village, solved the problems of their life by taking the life of men, who chanced to come into their dwelling.

Viewers of the Moscow Festival might remember the dark musical comedy by Takashi Miike “Happiness of the Katakuris”. It dealt with a small family hotel which had been built at the site of the future highway, but the large-scale plans changed and the hotel was now standing in the middle of nowhere. That is why the owners heartily welcomed any chance customer. Things would not have been quite so bad if the visitors did not adopt the practice of dieing the very next morning.

“Snowchild” seems an ideal sequel to Miike’s film. This time the owner of the hotel expects her guests to part with their lives earlier, than with her. So she arranges everything accordingly: the rooms are gloomy, the meals are always the same, the railing on the veranda overlooking the precipice is not too high. Clients are wisely asked to pay in advance. The woman has even calculated the number of days it usually takes to carry out their intentions – two or three. But the essential element is the steep cliff with waves breaking at its foot. One look at it is sufficient to arouse suicidal thoughts. It is impossible not to jump from it, like from the notorious Beachy Head near Eastbourne in England.

It is only natural that the young German director Uta Arning decided to set her film about suicides in Japan. This way of ending one’s life is probably more popular here than anywhere else. At least this problem is openly talked about. Just remember the controversial “Suicide Club” by Shion Sono, where groups of schoolchildren held hands and merrily threw themselves under the wheels of an approaching train, jumped from castle walls or the roof of the school.

Lodgers of the Nameless Hotel (yes, that is what it is called) have better reasons to part with their lives, although their stories are incredibly trite: some one has been left by the loved one, some one has been deflowered, another one can’t complete a haiku and still another suffers from an unrealized sexual desire. People come here with the sole purpose of ending their lives quietly and elegantly. Guests are having breakfast, somewhere in the background a blurred figure appears in the window on the parapet and quietly disappears. No thud, no shout. No one would have noticed anything if an old lady had not uttered a cry. But immediately she acquired a businesslike air and started adding another point to the already monstrous figure in her notebook – 1908.
Given the seriousness of the topic, there are nevertheless quite a few grotesquely funny moments in the movie. The young psychoanalyst is using a teach-yourself book to get ready for her next telephone conversation with a potential suicide victim. The owner of the hotel usually has her artificial eyelashes glued at different heights on both eyes. Her son merrily installs photos of the lodgers, who have jumped from the cliff, on the wagons of his toy railroad.

It is heartwarming that in contrast to Sono or Miike, Uta Arning treats her characters with warmth and compassion. The hapless psychoanalyst sincerely cares for each of her “clients” and looks after her paralyzed father with touching faithfulness. The poet pushes the girl away form him no because he is heartless but because he understands that he is better suited to be her father than her lover. Even the owner of the hotel finally starts to see things clearly. But before it happened her own son had to jump from the parapet.

Maria Terakopian

Perspectives
Dir. Cornel George Popa

A very tired woman strolls before the video camera in the Budapest park with the microphone attached to her skirt from behind. She is a single mother of 26. A guy whom she knew in the nursery school and has completely forgotten since, learns that she is employed in a sex shop and persuades her to record a video about her work which is still shocking in the post-Soviet space. In the film we will see part of this poorly shot footage, where Dorina – that is her name – will introduce her work as very similar to that of an accountant. The rest of the movie, showing Dorina’s everyday life in the familiar worn-out interiors of a 10-storied block of flats and her work, is composed of mostly static digital shots. The result is something like a mixture of “Romanian wave” and Godard of the time of his social questionnaires like “2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle”.

But the barely perceptible comic exaggeration in the gait of the woman with the microphone should have put us on our guard. Soon we will discover that those around her are super temperamental and easily recognizable prototypes. Like the familiar character of the neighbor who nags the janitress about the elevator which is always out of order and concludes her machine-gun utterance with the fail-safe maxim: “Some day my dog will piss on me while I go down from my 10th floor”. Like the psychological portrait of the mother who fakes total helplessness before her 35-year-old son: “Have you brought me something tasty, dearest?” – “You can’t eat sweets!” “I don’t mean sweets, no… Tomatoes! I haven’t tasted tomatoes for a long time…” Or the social characteristic of Dorina’s father with his endless complaints about how it was under the Communists and where we are going now. Heading to the shop, he is indignant: “Do I look like someone who needs a list?”. And of course he forgets to buy milk for the 18-months-old grandchild but most certainly remembers to buy a bottle for himself, which he skillfully (in his opinion) conceals and from which he even more secretly sips and snarls back turning the air blue.

When we have had enough fun and have believed in the verisimilitude of a dozen of these characters, then at night they will all find themselves in Dorina’s sex shop and all of it will prove a superstructure over the Eduardo De Filippo-like high-strung situation comedy set in one place. For example, Dorina’s suitor, the flabby homosexual mister Nastase, sprouting bouquets and poetry is a typical comic womanizer from Austro-Hungarian operetta, who has finally come clean with his orientation and is sporting a gay-porno cassette in a plastic bag. I have no doubt that on Romanian TV this movie will have a long and happy life and people not only of Dorina’s age but of the age of her baby will nostalgically watch it some 25 years hence. Neither the pitiful cheapness nor the smart allusions to the cinema of the past years and far away countries will be a problem. Similarly in this country the former did not hamper the popularity of the rightfully beloved TV comedy “Cherchez la femme”, and the latter – of the movie “Hello, I am your Aunt!”

Alexey Vasiliev