Lithuanian cinema spotlighted at Bali International Short Film Festival

Today, the Bali International Short Film Festival Minikino Film Week kicks off, with a special spotlight on Lithuanian cinema. For its 11th edition, the festival has invited Vilnius Short Film Festival to curate a focus programme “Hidden Stories”. Local audiences will have the chance to see a selection of 6 Lithuanian short films curated by a festival programmer Mantė Valiūnaitė. Minikino Film Week runs September 12–19 in Bali, Indonesia.

“Hidden Stories” programme, presented as part of the Vilnius Short Film Festival showcase at Minikino Film Week, features six Lithuanian short films created in recent years that have gained international recognition: “Once Upon a Vilnius” (dir. Eitvydas Doškus), “Dummy” (dir. Laurynas Bareiša), “Left-handed Pen” (dir. Adas Burkštaitis), “Mothers” (dir. Birutė Kapustinskaitė), “The One Who Knows” (dir. Eglė Davidavičė), and “Cherries” (dir. Vytautas Katkus). Screenings will take place on 12 and 16 of September.

The program was specially curated for Minikino Film Week by Mantė Valiūnaitė, film scholar, curator, and programmer for the Vilnius Short Film Festival. According to her: “Lithuanian cinema has found its identity and gained greater visibility in recent years. These hidden stories – told through documentary, fiction, and animation – reveal the re-creation of major and minor crimes, lost connections, and one’s relationship with their own body. To begin the journey, the first film takes you into the beautifully filmed cityscape of Vilnius.”

Minikino Film Week has been organised since 2015 by the Indonesian short film network Minikino. The festival takes place on the island of Bali, with the goal of promoting film culture, building community, and increasing accessibility to cinema for diverse audiences. Each year, the festival collaborates with short film festivals worldwide, highlighting different countries’ short films and creating space for diverse cultural expressions through the short film form. More information about the festival – here.