15/12/2020 - Lithuanian documentarian Marija Stonytė’s debut feature is a coming-of-age story about three girls who become women in the most masculine of surroundings

When military conscription for men was reintroduced in Lithuania a few years ago, a small number of young women also decided to voluntarily sign up for the service. Three girls live and train among 600 men at an isolated military base. They come from totally different backgrounds and decided to enlist as soldiers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces for different reasons. One wants to start a new life, the second hopes to find love, while the third tries to prove that she is strong and able to defend her country from the possible threat of Russian attacks. However, their romantic visions of being soldiers are soon shattered as they begin their military training, and their expectations are thwarted by harsh reality.

The story of these three girls and their intimate journey that reveals their characters is captured by Lithuanian documentarian Marija Stonytė in her debut feature-length observational documentary, Gentle Warriors [+see also:
trailer
film profile], set to world-premiere at the upcoming Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival as a Golden Kapok Screening in the Official Selection. The script was co-penned by Stonytė and Vėjūnė Tamuliūnaitė, while the cinematography was handled by Vytautas Plukas (The Jump [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and the editing by Mirjam Jegorov (Wonderful Losers: A Different World [+see also:
trailer
film profile]).

Previously, the project was presented and reaped awards in various markets, including Baltic Sea Docs, the Odesa Film Festival, MeetMarket at Sheffield Doc/Fest, Trieste’s When East Meets West, Thessaloniki’s Agora (Jury Special Mention), Meeting Point – Vilnius (Postproduction Award), The Edinburgh Pitch (Best Pitch Award) and Last Stop Trieste. This unique coming-of-age story is also scheduling its European premiere, which should take place by next year.

Gentle Warriors was produced by Giedrė Žickytė for Vilnius-based production company Moonmakers, in co-production with Riho Västrik, of Estonia’s Vesilind, and has received the support of the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Estonian Film Institute, LRT, EER, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Vilnius City Municipality. The international sales are handled by French outfit CAT&Docs.

Check out our exclusive trailer and poster below: