Editing director G. Urbonaitė: “It’s easier to feel a sense of community in the Lithuanian film industry”
Gabrielė Urbonaitė is a screenwriter, film director, and editing expert. She is currently working on two projects: a personal documentary and a debut full-length film, the shooting of which is scheduled to begin at the end of spring. The director graduated in the USA, studied in Boston and New York, but later chose to continue […]
Movie Set Make-Up Artist Rūta Padvelskytė: “My Work Is Wonderful, But It’s Definitely Not for Everyone”
Rūta Padvelskytė is a make-up artist who has worked on various foreign TV series and big screen films, such as “Catherine the Great”, “Chernobyl”, “Clark”, “Agent Hamilton”, “Lea”, “January” and many others. A true professional, Rūta has sometimes worked in extreme conditions, e.g. chilling -40 degrees, and now she admits that she can no longer […]
Cinematic locations: the Town Hall of Vilnius, which changes its costumes on screens
Didžioji Street, with a Catholic church, three Orthodox churches, and lots of museums, is one of the most prominent streets in Vilnius. Many houses on this street used to be inhabited by the intelligentsia: professors, nobles, or successful businessmen. In 1522, in house No. 19 Pranciškus Skorina printed the first printed book in the territory […]
Film critic I. Šukytė: „There is no single correct evaluation of the film”
What does it take to become a film critic? Why do professionals often have such different opinions, and what were the changes that 2023 brought to the film industry? Ieva Šukytė, a film journalist and critic who has been traveling around the world’s film festivals for many years, answers these questions in her conversation with […]
Vilnius Short Film Festival Organizers: “Short Films Are Always One Step Ahead”
“Short, yet films”—this is the motto of the Vilnius Short Film Festival, one of the biggest festivals in the Baltic countries, dedicated exclusively to short films. Rimantė Daugėlaitė-Cegelskienė, founder of the “Lithuanian Shorts” agency, head of the festival, and Gabrielė Cegialytė, the festival’s managing director, are at the helm of the event, which is taking […]
Cinematic Venues in Vilnius: the Lithuanian Writers’ Union Building and the Most Beautiful Staircase in the City
The premises of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union, located on A. Sirvydo Street, is one of the most beautiful palaces in Vilnius. The building’s walls bear witness to the history of Vilnius literature, both during the Soviet era and independence times. For decades, writers lived and composed their stories here, a hotel operated, and various artists […]
Intimacy coordinator, director I. Pužauskaitė: we need so little to make people feel good on the movie set
Irma Pužauskaitė is a filmmaker and the director of the film “The Ninth Step”, which was recently screened in cinemas. Not everyone knows that Irma is also an intimacy coordinator. In other words, she helps to ensure that certain boundaries are not crossed during the shooting of intimate scenes. One of the first intimacy coordinators […]
Foley artist D. Adomaityte: how the body becomes an instrument
Foley artists, otherwise known as sync noise makers, are people who create sounds for motion pictures, animation and documentaries. It is they who, using various objects and their bodies, voice not only characters’ actions—blows, the sounds of clashing weapons, footsteps, or the rustling of clothes—but also natural phenomena, like rain or flickering flames. “Breaking celery […]
The Tallinn Black Nights Flim Festival begins: Conversation With the Programmer, Edvinas Pukšta
On November 3rd, the most important film event in Northern Europe began: the Tallinn Black Nights Flim Festival. In just over two weeks, many important film premieres will take place, cinema industry professionals and film creative teams from all over the world will congregate in the capital of Estonia. Lithuanian film critic and film scout Edvinas Pukšta also contributed to the program compilation of the only A-class festival in Northern Europe. At the beginning of “Black Nights”, he agreed to tell the Vilnius Film Office a few interesting details about the backstage of international festivals, the Baltic countries’ cinema scene and what makes films successful.
Costume designer Rūta Lečaitė: If I work on a film project, I fall in love with it
Rūta Lėčaitė is a costume designer who worked on such films as “Vesper”, “Runner”, “Chernobyl”, “Parade”, “The Generation of Evil” and “Nova Lituania”. This year, In Lithuania the artist was nominated for the “Silver Crane” award for the costumes in the motion picture “January” and in Latvia she won an award in the same category. We meet with Rūta in her studio, where, among many costumes and accessories, work is in full swing for a new film project. She opens up to us about the everyday life of a costume designer and shares her thoughts on the changing film industry in a conversation initiated by the Vilnius Film Office. Rūta, let’s start from the beginning: how did you discover cinema, and why did you choose this particular career path?