Today, on October 8th, the documentary film festival “Nepatogus kinas“ (“Inconvenient Films”) celebrates its 18th birthday. As usual, in addition to 54 feature films, the program includes discussions, meetings, exhibitions, workshops, etc. “I believe that the content of a good documentary can surpass any fiction because reality is often even more unbelievable,” Judita Ragauskaitė, the festival’s coordinator, who also contributed to putting together the program, says. With the festival just around the corner, Ragauskaitė and the event’s program manager Eva Sinicaitė talk about its mission, the community that has grown around it, and the purposes of inconvenient art.
How many years have you been working on the festival? What do you find the most attractive and fascinating about it?
Judita: This is the 5th festival for me, but I used to work in a film theater, so I have been familiar with “Nepatogus kinas” in one way or another for 8 years. I remember that “Nepatogus kinas” caught my attention because of its outstanding content and rapport with the audience and because of the audience itself. At the time, I didn’t understand the festival very well, but many educational activities for young people were already a part of it. I joined the team during the pandemic, and although back then I still wasn’t a big fan of the festival, I was fascinated by documentary cinema, especially social documentaries. I believe that the content of a good documentary can surpass any fiction because reality is often even more unbelievable. When I watch movies, I also think about their impact and the influence they have on the audience. It helps me to grow, develop, learn, and notice how the audience changes and reacts. The documentary often becomes a platform where one can be seen, heard, and empowered.
Eva: This is my third year as part of the festival’s team. Even before I joined my colleagues, I was a fan of documentaries. Although the social message is very important at the festival, I was constantly surprised by how good the films screened here are. I never came across such a powerful documentary at other events. I like that the mission of documentary filmmakers is to show us the world, not just to fulfill their fantasies and ideas.
Who is the audience of “Nepatogus Kinas”? How would you describe the festival’s community?
Judita: The festival has grown, especially after the pandemic; films can also be watched online, and as many as 400 libraries are participating in the program this year, so our audience is very diverse and discovers the festival for various reasons. I hope that the festival audience is united by curiosity.
Most of all, we want to reach young people so that, besides learning about one or another problem they can also do something in that area. In the past, the festival was a niche for talking about topics that were addressed for the first time in Lithuania. Today, “Nepatogus kinas” is more of a space for meetings, communication, and selected good documentary cinema. Judging from what we see in the cinemas, people seem to care.
Eva: We meet with people who come to ask for recommendations and to talk. The audience seems to be very intelligent, educated, socially responsible, and ambitious—one would like to see such people around in other areas as well.

Probably today one would often hear that many things are happening in the world that are inconvenient and complicated—pandemics, wars, and social inequality. Why do we need inconvenient films, or inconvenient art in general?
Eva: This year, at the opening, the audience will choose for themselves which of the three films we offer they will watch. I recommend a film that is brutal and powerful called “No Other Land”; it talks about Palestine and the West Bank. So right now I’m thinking a lot about why we need to watch movies like this. I think our mission is not so much to say something new but rather to watch the film together with others, to understand that we experience things in a community, and that the festival is a space to talk about complex and uncomfortable topics that we often see but rarely address. We need a sense of community today.
Judita: Characters in documentaries are real people who find the strength to act and survive even in the most difficult situations. They often draw strength from certain activities and communities. When watching a documentary, people witness the things they read about in the headlines, but this time they see everything through an individual story, which often becomes a more accessible and easier way to “digest” and accept complex information.
The description of the festival states that “Nepatogus kinas” aims to make a significant and lasting change in society. What kind of change do you expect?
Judita: We talk a lot about the change brought by the festival—is it positive or, on the contrary, harmful? It is not uncommon to hear that the works screened at the festival are so strong that afterward, people cannot watch other films for a long time. Is it better for the film to speak for itself, or are additional activities required? Many questions come up.
Therefore, this year we have a small impact department as well as a group of people who will tell us how they are affected by the activities and films of the festival. We have several goals: we want to educate the audience and direct them to where they can receive help, where help can be offered, and where they can help others.
Eva: The documentary promotes empathy and urges us not to turn a blind eye, not to look away, to try to change something and help. Sometimes, reading the comments, we realize that people saw themselves in the films, or maybe even felt exposed. It is extremely interesting how you can see the story of your life in a person living somewhere far away, for example, in Venezuela, and that feeling stays with you for a long time.

Tell us how the festival program is put together. How many films do you need to watch for a full festival repertoire?
Eva: There are a lot of films to watch. Selection starts as soon as the festival ends. There are several international festivals that we always visit, and we watch documentary programs. “Uncomfortable Cinema” will present 54 feature-length films this year; although the number seems to be quite large while selecting and discarding them, you realize that it is not many at all.
Judita: We have several criteria by which we evaluate films: human rights content, artistic value, emotional impact, and educational potential. First, we watch films and then discuss how they affect us. Some of them may get zero points for artistic value but be extremely emotionally powerful. Films end up on the program’s list for very different reasons.
Eva: When we choose our favorite films, we also look at the overall picture: what does the gender equality of directors look like, the map of the world, how to make the spectrum of topics as wide as possible…
Judita: Although documentaries are usually made several years after the event, we try to make the films’ themes talk about topics that are relevant to us. For example, inclusive education is a very sensitive topic in Lithuania today, so in the program, we included a film about young people on the autism spectrum.
Eva: We also tried to respond to the election year—after all, this year there are both the Seimas election in Lithuania and the presidential elections in the USA, so several events will invite political scientists. For example, before the screening of the film “Forest Generation,” we will briefly tell the audience about our political parties and their values regarding environmental protection and forest preservation. There will be more such presentations on other topics.
What topics will be covered in the program this time? How are they relevant and important for today’s society?
Eva: We have a total of 12 thematic programs this year. “Films to Help You Grow” are short films for children that have become a tradition. Extremely colorful films that will take you to the farthest corners of the world are waiting for you in the “Voyage Voyage” program.
The “Are we ready?” program was curated by one of the people who put together the entire festival’s program, Vladas Rožėnas, who got the idea after going to the Civil Resistance course. Most of us are worried about the threat of war in Lithuania, but most of the conversations oscillate between two extremes: panic or complete ignorance of the problem. The program includes films that will help you to look more rationally at what would happen if the war broke out and encourage you to talk about what you are going through and to calm down.
The “Secret” program offers many intriguing films, delving into topics we tend not to talk about. Many films about sexuality and self-discovery await you. Worlds that are often still closed to us will open up here.
Judita: The “Artificial” program will cover technologies and the changes they bring: stories about chatbots, cryptocurrencies, and online anxiety caused by social networks.
We will also have many political films about people who do not give up and fight for their freedom and place in the world; we will travel from Belarus to Palestine; and we will have a special program for Ukrainian films. Interestingly, two Lithuanian premieres presented at the festival are also dedicated to Ukraine’s struggle for freedom.
What other events will take place besides the repertory films this year? What events are not to be missed, in your opinion?
Eva: The audience will have the possibility to take part in a series of experiential sessions; we tried to expand the topics that are discussed in the films. For example, the documentary “I’m not Everything I Want to be” about the life of a photographer from the Czech Republic will be accompanied by the workshop of Lithuanian photographer Neringa Rekašiūtė. We will explore photography as a way to discover and get to know ourselves. Before the movie “Once Upon a Time in a Forest”, we will invite you to a forest bath, which will be conducted by an expert in this field, Mila Monk. On the last day of the festival, there will be a reflection on the topic of happiness, inspired by the movie “Agent of Happiness”, and the Brazilian street music played in the movie “Balomania” will invite you to evening parties in Kaunas and Klaipėda.
Judita: Meanwhile, one of the films of the festival, “Eros,” talks about Brazilian love motels and questions why people go there—driven by poverty, sexual orientation, or other things. The conversation with the film director will be conducted by a sexologist, who will invite us to analyze our sexuality. We will also invite you to listen to the podcasts inspired by the films, which will be created by „Nara“, „Žaidžiam žmogų“ and „Dialogas“.
This is the second year in a row that we are organizing an interactive exhibition with video installations and virtual reality experiences that promote empathy. We will invite visitors to incarnate in the bodies of people who experience the world differently. The exhibition will open halfway through the festival and will allow stories to be told in a different format.

The festival has begun. What would you like to wish for your audience?
Judita: I wish you all to find time to visit the festival! I hope that people will find films they want to watch, and I encourage those who don’t like documentaries to give it another try.
Eva: I urge you to be curious: do a little research and try to watch more films, because the program is really diverse—to find something meaningful, relevant, or maybe just fun. I also want to remind you that although the social message, impact, and questions raised are important for the festival, at the same time, these are simply good documentaries.
Thank you for the conversation.