Vilnius Short Film Festival presents: Canada’s First Nations’ cinema, virtual reality films and animation for adults
On 15–21 January, film lovers will come together in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai cinemas as well as VOD screens for a good dose of vibrant short films that are bound to wake us from the winter’s slumber in the 18th edition of the Vilnius Short Film Festival, which reveals its full programme and launches ticket sales today. Its diverse and always surprising repertoire features as many as twenty programmes consisting of over 100 short films from all over the world.
The festival programme is traditionally divided into three parts: National Competition films that are competing for the Best Lithuanian Film; International Competition films, which will be competing for the Best International Film; all films assessed by an international jury which will also award one film with the Oscar-qualifying Grand Prix prize. The third part of the repertoire, which is the most varied and least expected, is the guest-curated special programmes divided according to themes and genres.
Twelve special programmes feature the latest and most memorable short films, from introduction to Quebecois film and the voices of Canada’s First Nations, adult animation or programmes curated by children, youth and senior programmers, to a virtual reality film selection, retrospectives of US independent filmmaker Bill Morrison or Lithuanian actress Gabija Jaraminaitė, films by the brightest stars in European cinema or the now legendary Short Film Night and, last but not least, the programme of Festival Winners.
Historic memory of Quebec and vivid voices of the new generation of Quebecois filmmakers
This year, the Vilnius Short Film Festival has aimed its focus at Quebec, a key hub of Canada’s cinema industry, renowned for its strong cultural identity. Quebec cinema is also shaped by Canada’s colonial history, with many films made on unceded Indigenous lands that address the effects of cultural and territorial annexation. Pioneering filmmakers like Alanis Obomsawin documented First Nations struggles, and today, many artists continue this legacy.
The festival will showcase four documentary works of one of the world’s most eminent Indigenous filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin. Her extraordinary filmography includes more than 60 films. She has received countless international awards and distinctions and she is still shooting films at 91 years old. Festival’s audience will have an opportunity to dive into several injustices that Indigenous communities suffered over the years, such as the neglect and mistreatment of which children have been victims or the demonization of the Mohawks during Oka Crisis’ 78-day armed standoff in 1990, Canada. The programme Alanis Obomsawin – Indigenous Film Pioneer is curated by Morgane Ferrero, programmer at REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, who is coming to present it as well.
The second Quebec-dedicated programme, Upcoming Voices, features six films that stood out in past editions of REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival. From a trip to village life in Quebec, infused with the magical sounds of traditional music, to a road trip to the beach with the lovely Madeleine, who is 107 years old, and her 40-year-old friend, from a comedy, a surrealist banquet with mothers… and their monsters to the footsteps of ancestors or tribute to immigrant families grappling with prejudice and cultural challenges. Programme will be presented by curator Morgane Ferrero.
Oh là là! adult animation
The PG-18 marked programme presents seven lovely animated sins for adults. Viewers will discover a very twisted alphabet, meet a talented (or not) eye surgeon for cats, follow Hurikan, a pig man in his incredible quest for beers, and watch what happens to a young man trying to help a lump with a mouth. After the screening, the point of view towards the cheat meals will be totally different, so bon appétit!
Oh là là! is a classic French exclamation used to express a fairly strong reaction, whether good or bad: excitement, surprise, disappointment, etc. “It’s just too good to be true, you can’t take your eyes off Oh là là!” – says curator and , animation expert Sébastien Sperer (France), who will be attending the festival to present the programme.
Programmes curated by the audience – children, youngsters and seniors
The youngest of viewers will surely enjoy Playful Stories for Kids, a programme curated by a group of elementary school pupils aged 7-10 with a keen interest in cinema. Under the guidance of professional film curators and educators, they selected thirteen films that were relevant to their interests. A colourful selection of ten animated stories will immerse the little ones into a playful world full of colours and adventures. They will meet a cheerful octopus and an aquarium keeper, an art thief who is down on his luck and a lot of other fun characters. The programme is conceived in cooperation with the Kaboom Animation Festival (The Netherlands). The screenings will be accompanied by animation workshops for the whole family.
The programme What They Don’t Tell You at School was curated by the ‘Young Programmers’ of Meno Avilys, a group of senior high school students interested in cinema. In their own words, “What they don’t tell you at school, you can see watching the films in this programme.” Forgotten religious, political terror, inability to come to terms with historic change, present-day polarization of the society and the tensions it causes. This programme is conceived to address the problems that make teenagers worried about the future, which they do not talk about at school, in the media and on social media.
The programme Backstage of Life was curated at the ‘Cinema Travel’ workshop for seniors. It calls us to experience so many different lives that we see from the facade while what lies behind the curtain is only visible to the closest ones. Five Lithuanian short films reveal what we cannot see in daily life: a complex childhood universe, violence against the weaker, brutalities and echoes of times gone by.
A three-decade-spanning career in the US independent filmmaker Bill Morrison retrospective
The programme Footprints of Images: Bill Morrison Films, curated by Natalija Arlauskaitė, professor, visual studies and film scholar, presents three decades of Bill Morrisonwork, with a particular focus on how the culture of the moving image has changed from the emergence of cinema in the 19th century to the astronomical or police body cameras and their recordings today.
The programme features four short films – a short film elegy in which the most famous lion of cinema disappears from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo in the same way as unknown faces or sounds; a slightly ironic meditation on how the cinematic eye saw the sky when people wanted to see an eclipse, when telescopes filmed astronomical bodies, or when silent cinema saw the Ascension; an investigation into an episode in the history of racism in the USA, and so much more.
Bill Morrison is an American filmmaker who has been called “the poetic laureate of lost films” (The New York Times, 2021) for his films that reinterpret long-forgotten moving images. He is widely known for his innovative approach to filmmaking and for his use of disintegrated and archival footage.
The festival’s first-ever retrospective of Lithuanian actress Gabija Jaraminaitė
Retrospectives of actors, rather than directors, are still a rare sight in film festival repertoires. This year, Vilnius Short Film Festival presents Gabija Jaraminaitė: Faces of Motherhood, a programme curated by Andrė Balžekienė.
Gabija Jaraminaitė is undoubtedly one of the most active contemporary actors in Lithuanian cinema who is appreciated by both Lithuanian and international directors. This programme features four Lithuanian short films starring Jaraminaitė in roles united by the faces of motherhood. All the roles in these films would be criticised by society, but the actress strips them of any external judgement. This way, the audience has the opportunity to understand them better and once again enjoy Gabija Jaraminaitė’s multifaceted talent.
Pulsating new European cinema
The European Stories programme presents up-and-coming European filmmakers. While they employ different types of cinema to tell their stories – fiction film, animation or a fusion of these, there are similarities between the films. This year it is the thread of the every day: comic, meaningless, complex, boring, unexpectedly shattered or about to be fundamentally changed.
The films have premiered at Cannes, Locarno, San Sebastian among other international festivals and now they continue their journey in Lithuania. The productions were funded by the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme. The programme will be screened at Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania as well as on LRT Epika.
Opportunity to ‘enter’ films in virtual reality
For the first time ever, Vilnius Short Film Festival presents an exclusive Virtual Reality (VR) film programme, offering a rare opportunity to see internationally acclaimed works.
The Virtual Reality (VR) programme invites viewers into the world of three different stories, where each experience reveals a unique perspective on the human condition and its relationship with the environment. The film Flow won last year’s special jury prize at Venice and has travelled to over 50 film festivals, whereas Emperor won the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize. The programme also features a Lithuanian animation, Lithuania – An Experience to Share by Aleksandr Špilevoj.
The programme is presented by BLON Animation and Games Festival in partnership with Vilnius Tech, Institut français de Lituanie, and Lithuania Travel.The most anticipated film event of the winter season – Short Film Night
Our festival’s unbreakable tradition and record-breaking crowd-pleaser SHORT FILM NIGHT is back with another five hours of good short films! Its generous programme features 19 inspiring, tear-jerking, eyebrow-raising and nerve-tickling films. The Short Film Night will take place exclusively on 17 January in all the festival’s cities.
Festival Winners
As always we will close the festival with a special programme of the Festival Winners, featuring the best films from both National and International Competition, as judged by the jury, as well as the Grand Prix winner, which will be eligible for an Oscar nomination. The films in the programme will be revealed after the Awards Ceremony on 19 January.
The 18th edition of Vilnius Short Film Festival will take place on 15–21 January, 2025 at:
VILNIUS: Pasaka cinema, Skalvija Cinema Centre, MO Museum, Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania;
KAUNAS: Kaunas Cinema Centre “Romuva”;
KLAIPĖDA: cinema “Arlekinas”;
ŠIAULIAI: Museum of Photography;
All of Lithuania: Žmonės Cinema home cinema platform and LRT Epika.
Info, tickets and full programme at: www.filmshorts.lt
The festival is organised by Lithuanian Short Film Agency LITHUANIAN SHORTS. The festival is partially sponsored by: Lithuanian Film Centre, Creative Europe Media, Vilnius City Municipality. Institutional partners: Audiovisual Works Copyright Association AVAKA, Creative Europe Media desk in Lithuania, LATGA Association, Baltic-American Freedom Foundation, Institut français de Lituanie. Main media partner: LRT Epika.
