Ten Minutes Before Icarus Flight

Lithuania
1990
Documentary
10 min.

 

Director | Aūnas Matelis

Director of photography | Arūnas Matelis

Editing | Danutė Cicėnaitė

Sound | Faustas Latėnas

Production company | Lithuanian Film Studios, studio „Nominum“

 

This film is considered to be a manifesto of the post-Soviet generation of Lithuanian filmmakers who rejected the straightforward declarative approach and immersed themselves into the silent observation of reality. Film director Arūnas Matelis traces the beginnings of post- Soviet transformation: but rather than heading straight to the main squares of Vilnius, he observes it in the daily life of the inhabitants of Užupis – a historical quarter of the old town of Vilnius. One of the heroes of the film is a tiny fellow with an ear-flap cap. Feeling like home, he hangs around Užupis; his parole is the mosaic of Lithuanian, Russian, Polish and Yiddish words. This queer character is like a walking spirit of Užupis – scanty yet free.