This October, stories inspired by Lithuanian literature will return to the big screen as Book + Cinema: Autumn Film Evenings, an initiative now celebrating its fifth year, welcomes audiences to Vilnius Town Hall for the first time. Over three evenings in October, audiences will have the opportunity to see the Lithuanian films Vortex, The Purple Mist and A Wolf Teeth Necklace, with each screening followed by meetings and conversations with the filmmakers.
Bringing literature and cinema together, the Book + Cinema initiative invites audiences each year to rediscover Lithuanian literature and explore its potential on the big screen. One part of the project, Autumn Film Evenings, offers audiences not only the chance to see films adapted from literary works, but also to meet the filmmakers behind them.
This year, the series moves to a new venue, with screenings taking place in the very heart of the city at Vilnius Town Hall. The programme features three Lithuanian literary adaptations made in different periods, offering three distinct perspectives on how stories from literature can take on a new life through cinema.
“This year, we are celebrating an anniversary edition of the Book + Cinema: Autumn Film Evenings series, which we will officially open at Vilnius Town Hall. We invite Vilnius residents and visitors to rediscover Lithuanian literature and the films it has inspired. Together with filmmakers, we will discuss the journey stories take from literature to the big screen. I hope we can broaden our annual audience and attract even greater interest,” says Živilė Gallego, co-organiser of the project and producer at Fralita Films.
From Vortex to A Wolf Teeth Necklace
On 8 October, Autumn Film Evenings will open with director Gytis Lukšas’ feature film Vortex (Duburys, 2009), based on Romualdas Granauskas’ novel of the same name. At the centre of the film is Juozapas Gaučys, played by actor Giedrius Kiela. After leaving the village where he grew up, he moves to the city, begins an independent life, works, falls in love and searches for his place in the everyday reality of the Soviet era. The personal story of one man becomes a sensitive portrait of both the period and the people who lived through it.
Vortex received recognition at the Lithuanian Silver Crane Film Awards, was presented at international film festivals and was selected as Lithuania’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Following the screening, audiences will be invited to a conversation with Giedrius Kiela, who played Juozapas, about bringing Granauskas’ character to the screen, working with director Gytis Lukšas, and how the film and its protagonist resonate more than fifteen years after the premiere.
On 13 October, audiences will see Raimundas Banionis’ The Purple Mist (Purpurinis rūkas, 2019), inspired by writer Felix Roziner’s short story Purple Smoke. The historical drama takes viewers to the complex realities of post-war Lithuania, where people’s choices are shaped not only by their own emotions and beliefs, but also by political circumstances, fear and the need to survive. The film intertwines themes of love, guilt, betrayal and moral choice, placing the characters’ personal stories against the backdrop of major historical upheavals. The evening’s guest will be the film’s director, Raimundas Banionis.
On 21 October, the series will conclude with director Algimantas Puipa’s A Wolf Teeth Necklace (Vilko dantų karoliai, 1997), based on the novel of the same name by writer Leonardas Gutauskas. At its heart are an artist’s life, memory, creativity and the constantly intertwining experiences of past and present. Blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination, the film became one of the most distinctive works of Lithuanian cinema of the late 20th century. Director Algimantas Puipa will join the audience for a conversation following the screening.
Throughout all three evenings, the screenings will be complemented by discussions exploring the relationship between literature and cinema, the process of adapting literary works for the screen, and how a story born on the page changes when it passes into the hands of directors, screenwriters and actors.
The Book + Cinema: Autumn Film Evenings screenings will take place on 8, 13 and 21 October at 6 p.m. at Vilnius Town Hall.
Tickets are available via Bilietai.lt.
Photography may take place during the event.
Photo by Modestas Andriuška
The project is organised by Fralita Films, the Vilnius Film Office and Vilnius Town Hall. The project is supported by the AVAKA association, the Lithuanian Publishers Association and the Creative Europe Desk Lithuania, and is partially funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre.
