Industry Days

10:00 – 12:30 Scriptwriting masterclass “Cinematic Storytelling”
Gintarė Parulytė (Luxembourg/Lithuania) 

What makes a story cinematic? How do you write it, and where should you begin? Where do you draw inspiration from, and how can you attract and sustain the attention of the readers who will decide about the future of your script?

In this engaging 2-hour masterclass, Lithuanian-born award-winning filmmaker Gintarė Parulytė will share what has helped her write scripts that move, entertain, and engage audiences in all corners of the world. While showing some examples, she will guide you through her work process and reveal specific and hands-on tools that can help anyone write stories that matter, that are relatable, and that are destined to be translated onto the big screen.

The masterclass will be held in English. 

Venue: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Gedimino pr. 51, Vilnius, Conference Hall on the 5th floor).

About speaker

Gintarė Parulytė is an award-winning Lithuanian-born screenwriter from Luxembourg. After working as an actress in films and theatre plays, she turned to filmmaking with her first short film “Is That, Like Your Real Job?”. Since then, she has created the Web Series “Ladybits”, co-written the short film “You Kai”, and co-directed the short documentary “Aftermath, Afterpath”. She equally wrote and directed the short comedy “And He Said Yes!”, which won the Panorama “Divergent Minds” award at the International Film Festival in Tirana and whose script was selected among the six best short comedy scripts from around the world by the Torino Short Film Market. This year, she premiered with her short dramatic comedy “Date Night”, filmed the short drama “I’m Here” in Lithuania, and is currently developing her first feature film as well as a European Anthology TV Series.

15:00 – 16:30 Film Criticism: Essayistic, Local, and Global
Laurence Boyce (Estonia)
Savina Petkova (United Kingdom)

During this presentation film journalist Laurence Boyce and film critic Savina Petkova will talk about the place of essayism in the economy of criticism and the relationship of a critic to a festival through the essay form, the relationship between shorts and essays.

The presentation will be held in English.

This event is organized in the framework of the European Workshop for Film Criticism, in partnership with the European Network for Film Discourse (The END) and short film magazine Talking Shorts.

Venue: “Meno Avilys” Cinematheque (A. Goštauto g. 2, Vilnius).

About speakers

Savina Petkova is a Bulgarian film critic and programmer based in London. Her bylines include MUBI Notebook, Little White Lies, Film Comment, Senses of Cinema, Variety, among others. She’s part of the editorial board of Talking Shorts and currently finishing a doctorate at King’s College London on animal metaphors and metamorphoses. Savina is also a feature programmer for Sofia International Film Festival and Cambridge Film Festival. Member of the Critics Circle, European Film Academy, BIFA, and FIPRESCI.

Laurence Boyce has been working in the film industry for almost 25 years with a focus on short film. He began at the Leeds International Film Festival (UK) as a programmer and still works there to this day as an advisor. He currently works as the Head of Programme (Live Action for PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival) in Tallinn, Estonia. Aside from his festival duties, Laurence works as a journalist for outlets such as Screen International, Sight & Sound and Cineuropa. He is a member of BAFTA, the European Film Academy, the London Critics’ Circle and FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics). He is also the chairman of the board of the Short Film Conference, an international network of organisations focused on short film.

Venue: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Gedimino pr. 51, Vilnius, Conference Hall on the 5th floor).

10:00 – 11:15
Empowering Tomorrow’s Audience: Repertoire Shaped by the Youth 

Gintė Žulytė, Meno avilys (Lithuania)
Inja Korać, Motovun Film Festival (Croatia)

Can young people shape the repertoire of cinemas and festivals? In this presentation, Gintė Žulytė, educator at ‘Meno avilys,’ and Inja Korać, programmer at the International Motovun Film Festival, will share their valuable experiences in implementing the ‘Young Programmers’ initiative. This initiative aims to provide young people with the opportunity to ‘try out’ the profession of a film programmer.

11:15 – 11:30 break

11:30 – 13:00

Mechanisms of Developing Young Audiences through Cinemas and Festivals

Miglė Apyvalaitė-Petronienė, Skalvija Cinema Center (Lithuania)
Clara Schermer, Vienna Shorts (Austria)
Sigrid Hedenius-Ebner, Uppsala Short Film Festival (Sweden)

In recent years, with the changes in film watching habits, there has been a heightened focus on the development of young audiences by the programmers of cinemas and festivals. During the presentation, various practices of festivals and non-commercial cinemas, educational strategies and mechanisms of film screening and programming will be discussed in order to develop the habits of young audiences to watch non-commercial European cinema.

13:00 – 14:00 break

14:00 – 14:45
Collaborative Efforts in the Young Audience Development Field: “Submarine” Case

Tanja Hladnik, Kino Otok – Isola Cinema, Otok Institute (Slovenia)

Initiatives aimed at the development of young audiences work more effectively when they are carried out in cooperation with like-minded people and have a long-term strategy. The Slovenian non-commercial film institute “Otok Institute” has been running a rich program of international and national educational initiatives called “Submarine” for children, youth and families for many years. The representative of the mentioned institute, Tanja Hladnik, will present the initiatives of “Submarine”, which may be relevant for Lithuanian audiences as well.

14:45 – 15:30
Non-commercial Family Screenings: Development of Its Traditions in Lithuania

Gintarė Gilaitienė, researcher (Lithuania)

Starting from the spring of 2022, the Lithuanian short film agency “Lithuanian Shorts” is implementing a study aimed at revealing the tradition of watching the family screenings Lithuania. In this report, the head of the study, researcher-educator Gintarė Gilaitiene, will present the results of the second phase of the study, which will reflect the practices and trends of European film festivals and regional cinemas offering non-commercial content for families.

15:45 – 17:15
Workshop
Strategies for Young Audience Development in Lithuania. How to create a successful network?

Gintarė Gilaitienė, researcher (Lithuania)

This workshop is a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing success stories and brainstorming strategies to enhance young audience involvement in film festivals and art-house cinemas. Participants will be able to share insights and create new successful collaborations between film festivals, cinemas, and the industry to create events, workshops, and educational programs specifically targeted at young audiences.

The workshop will be held in Lithuanian only.