FIlms

Restlessly ambitious, emerging directors never fail to surprise with their early mastery and stylistic distinctiveness. These women and men are keen to explore the possibilities of visual language, to reflect boldly on complicated social issues, to let sensitivity and a tenderly romantic attitude in. Most importantly, they offer audiences a fresh perspective and portend a bright future for Europe’s auteur cinema.

Always drawing some of the largest crowds to the cinemas, the Critics’ Choice programme is back this year with the favourites of film critics writing for a variety of prestigious publications. This breathtaking selection includes films that tell extraordinary stories using unique forms and genres. Both renowned and emerging filmmakers find their place here.

Costumes have been an integral part of cinema ever since its inception: clothing helps paint the unique world of the film, it puts the transformations undergone by the central characters into sharper focus, and, when it breaks out of the confines of the screen, it can start affecting us directly. In addition to enabling viewers to read the messages encoded in clothing, this programme also introduces them to some of the most prominent costume designers. Come and witness the evolution of film fashion!

The programme includes five films, each created by a director boldly experimenting with the short form, all while maintaining a delicate balance between animation, computer graphics and the documentary genre. Cinema becomes therapy, capable of healing the traumas inflicted by the ongoing war, encouraging viewers to rethink the Ukraina’s present and imagine the future.

The films that will kick off the festival for children. A joyful buzz, games, snacks and two animated films – “Basia” and “Hoofs on Skates”. On March 16, for the first time, we will invite parents and their kids to a special event in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda.

This year’s programme focuses not only on Lithuanian directors, but also on producers who have brought films made in collaboration with Lithuanian creators to the screens of some of the world’s largest film festivals. Real and fictional stories of strong women, the life and death of a Christmas tree, a whole generation of young people born on the day of Lithuania’s accession to the EU.

An incredibly lively and inspiring programme of short animated films, featuring the work of four prominent Lithuanian artists from 1970–1990. Visually stunning and accompanied by mesmerising music, the films are full of hope, anticipation, light, and kindness. This diverse portrait of Lithuanian animators views creativity as a living, breathing, talking being, which touches the very core of human soul.

Sitting in a dark cinema hall, it can be hard to tell whether the screams you hear are those of fright or delight… Why not both though? This programme blends horror with eroticism, fusing the taste of wine with that of blood. A community aroused by car crashes, the dangerous games of a boss and his maid, a bloodthirsty Countess, a love witch, Frankenstein in 3D.

The programme includes the latest works by numerous renowned, critically acclaimed directors. Each film will dazzle with its original style and professional craftsmanship. This year, viewers will see films by the meticulous Jonathan Glazer, master of Polish cinema Agnieszka Holland, the music-loving Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, festival favourite Hirokazu Koreeda, and many more masterful creators.

This programme is designed for the youngest ones out there and those who are dipping their toes in the world of film festivals for the very first time. It features a unique selection of animated films about family adventures, meant to stimulate curiosity about the world. There is an endless array of playful animated shorts too. The little cinemagoers will also have a chance to attend a special opening celebration and take part in an educational programme.

A Nazi commandant and his wife create an “idyllic” life in their home, on the other side of the Auschwitz concentration camp fence.

The programme presents a diverse selection of contemporary films from around the world—both festival favourites and unexpected discoveries. These include works beloved by discerning critics, as well as those that the major festivals overlooked, yet the audiences still fell for. Following these screenings, we will discuss sex and politics, the pursuit of happiness, and the struggle for survival that awaits us in the future.

The films to be screened in Screen 9 experiment bravely with cinematic language, blurring the boundaries of genres and forms. The films in this year’s programme are filled to the brim with music and sounds—sometimes even the kind of sounds that reach you despite you having your ears covered. In resplendent flower gardens, there hide eroticism and spectacular landscapes, whether located out in the open air or found inside virtual worlds.

The programme presents five stories, all centred on men—men struggling with injustice or baldness, men seeking answers to existential dilemmas in video games, men striving to feel like they are enough and trying to be accepted. Young or old, all men cry sometimes.

As reality changes, sometimes our bodies do too. They live through illnesses and war traumas, immerse themselves in urban and political fantasies, seeking to transform the cold hard facts embodied by motionless monuments: a Parisian suburb drowning in boredom, the burning Notre-Dame, or the phallic Fountain of King Fahd in Jeddah.

Salmon fighting for survival, stingrays leading a revolution, forest mammals reborn as robots, people trying to make it out of wild nature alive. The films in this programme present breathtaking visions of the future and reflect on our relationship with nature.

The Lithuanian short film programme at Kino Pavasaris is a highly anticipated event and an important celebration of cinema, both for the filmmakers themselves and for the festival audience. This year’s programme includes 7 films, all of them marked by an engaging, authentic cinematic language and a wide variety of genres. Here, playfulness and humour interweave seamlessly with feminine tenderness and existential questions posed stubbornly by a smart fridge.

Love can be as sweet as honey, it can be forbidden or blind, it can be unrequited or self-sacrificing, it can make you feel like ripping your skin off and sprinkling salt on your wounds. This programme explores the different layers and sublayers of love, from the infatuation to the painful break-up.

This programme brings the worlds of the living and the dead together. A little girl tries to contact her grandmother from beyond, monks from the previous century wave to us merrily, people reborn as trees whisper to the audience, and family legends recorded in landscapes unfold gently.

This programme is designed for short film-loving night owls. Now a long-standing tradition, the Shortest Night will feature as many as 20 films and result in a screening lasting an impressive 5 hours. There will be plenty of music, colour, and experimentation. Numerous short walks will take you from one world to the next, all while keeping you up until dawn. Many of the films included were first screened at prestigious film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Locarno and Clermont-Ferrand.

The programme presents a film by artist Céline Condorelli and British filmmaker Ben Rivers “After Work”, a playful exploration of the relationship between work and leisure. French filmmaker Bertrand Mandico sees creativity as a sort of game too and uses the language of genre films to examine it, while Pedro Almodóvar, a legendary figure of Spanish cinema, offers up a distinctive interpretation of Western movies, with two cowboys in love at its centre.

A special programme for the youngest cinemagoers out there. These animated films will delve into friendship and courage, inspire curiosity by encouraging kids to guess what’s hidden inside a mysterious box that a pilot has brought from halfway across the globe, as well as introduce the little ones to the Land of Sleep and the inhabitants of a small puddle. This year’s programme also boasts the puppet animation film “Pačiūžos ir kanopos” (Ice Skates and Hooves) by Lithuanian director Ignas Meilūnas. While the programme has been created with children in mind, grown-ups are guaranteed to find something for themselves here too!

Smart 7 is a network made up of seven European film festivals united by similar visions. It aims to encourage the circulation of European films and to share its best practices regarding film curation, all while identifying common trends that may help the film industry and festival culture grow and develop in the future.

Special screenings awaits our most curious viewers, those looking for unique experiences and striving to learn more about the history of cinema and cult films. Just before the official launch of this year’s festival, two silent film screenings will take place, while the festival itself will feature a selection of films that director Saulė Bliuvaitė has been inspired by, a screening of a Talking Heads concert, and a secret film.

Dedicated to all things sports, this programme invites viewers on an adrenaline-fueled journey. It reflects on the power of sports to inspire, transform, heal, bring joy, and help tackle social issues. Embark on a crazy bike race, get to know numerous strong personalities, and become convinced once and for all that each single person, even a differently abled one, can become a star in the world of sports.