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BERLINALE 2020 EFM

Lithuania brings “only good news” to Berlin

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- With its first-ever film in the Berlinale Shorts competition, a co-production in Generation and four movies getting market screenings, the Baltic country is revving its engines for Berlin

Lithuania brings “only good news” to Berlin
Dummy by Laurynas Bareiša

This year started with some great news from Lithuania, as the results from its tax-incentive scheme have proven to be extremely positive (see the news), and now, according to the Lithuanian Film Centre (LFC), the country is aiming to share “only good news” at the 70th Berlinale (20 February-1 March) and the accompanying European Film Market (EFM, 20-27 February) as well. Its presence at the leading gathering includes one film in Berlinale Shorts (for the first time ever), a minority co-production in Generation 14plus and four films that will be screened at the EFM, thanks to an initiative organised by the LFC, which will be occupying stand number 132 in Berlin’s Marriott Hotel.

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In Berlinale Shorts, Laurynas Bareiša is participating with his fourth short film, Dummy, which will have its world premiere. The movie follows a crime-scene investigation in the forest, where the perpetrator is re-enacting the crime using a faceless doll, conveying a raw brutality that is almost unbearable. Starring Paulius Markevičius and Indrė Patkauskaitė, the film was written, directed, lensed and edited by Bareiša. It was produced by Klementina Remeikaite for Vilnius-based afterschool, and Estonia’s Varicoloured is handling the sales.

In Generation 14plus, the documentary The Earth Is Blue as an Orange [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iryna Tsilyk
film profile
]
by Ukrainian director Iryna Tsilyk will be having its European premiere, following Sundance. Set in Donbas, Ukraine, the documentary follows single mother Anna and her four children, who are making a film together in order to cope with the daily trauma of living in a warzone. The documentary is a Ukrainian-Lithuanian co-production by Anna Kapustina (Albatros Communicos) and Giedre Žickyte, for Vilnius-based Moonmakers. French outfit CAT&Docs handles the sales.

Furthermore, four films will have market screenings during the EFM, thanks to an initiative organised by the LFC. Two of these are seeking their world premieres and are Romas Zabarauskas’ third feature, The Lawyer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(see the news), which you can also enjoy a first glimpse of thanks to its trailer (exclusive to Cineuropa – see the news), and Lina Lužytė’s sophomore feature, the Lithuanian-Irish drama The Castle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
. The other two selected films already premiered in 2019 and are Isaac [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jurgis Matulevičius
film profile
]
by Jurgis Matulevičius (Lithuania) and Motherland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Tomas Vengris (Lithuania/Latvia/Germany/Greece). Finally, three Lithuanians, writer-director Saulius Baradinskas, actor-composer Mantas Zemleckas and sound designer Iveta Macevičiūtė, are representing the country as some of the Berlinale Talents.

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