Winners of the 11.5th Vilnius International Short Film Festival Announced
The 36-hour-long 11.5th Vilnius International Short Film Festival held a double ceremony, both opening and closing, on Friday night. In addition to a special short screening of films, it presented the award to the winner of the National Competition. The title of the best Lithuanian short film went to Elžbieta Josadė for her documentary Dialogue With Joseph.
The jury explained their choice by calling it “a reflection on the ways that enable the relationship not only with one’s family over distance but also with those that are near. It offers a respectful look into the father’s world, slow, not-so-smooth and demanding. With its seemingly simple story, the film sets out on an exploration of possibilities of seeing the general picture of nature, as well as the world.”
This year’s jury was composed of literary, film and visual studies scholar Natalija Arlauskaitė, film director Tomas Vengris, and independent consultant for audio-visual industry, Eva Brazdžionytė. The winning film’s director Elžbieta Josadė said she was pleased by the fact that the award went to a documentary film. She received a 1000 Euro prize funded by the Vilnius City Mayor Remigijus Šimašius.
“I am grateful to the festival for showing what is the most exciting, entertaining and emotional job. You have managed to show a lot in a very short time. So I’d like to wish the best of creative luck to all of the filmmakers,” said Remigijus Šimašius in presenting the prize to the film’s producer Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė.
Meanwhile, the audience had an opportunity to select their own favourite by voting for one of the National Competition films throughout the festival. The majority of votes was received by The Last Day (by Klaudija Matvejevaitė), an adaptation of a Jaroslav Melnik story, dealing with the value of life – how it is measured and how its perception changes when confronted by death.
The National Competition consisted of eleven Lithuanian short films: The Mother’s Day (by Kamilė Milašiūtė), Yana (by Saulė Bliuvaitė), Watchkeeping (by Karolis Kaupinis), Where Things, Where People Disappear (by Jorė Janavičiūtė), Remember, Thou Art Clay (by Elvina Nevardauskaitė, David Heinemann), Running Lights (by Gediminas Šiaulys), Mr. Night Has A Day Off (by Ignas Meilūnas), Last Stop Is The Moon (by Birutė Sodeikatė), and Dialogue With Joseph (by Elžbieta Josadė).
The festival is held by the Lithuanian short film agency Lithuanian Shorts and funded by Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius Municipality.