On Satuday, 15 December 2012 at 16:30 and on Wednesday 19 December at 19:00 in Delft and in Hilversum

In the presence of HE Darius Semaška, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania

TADAS BLINDA. THE BEGINNING/ TADAS BLINDA. PRADŽIA 2011, 110 min, filmdirector: Donatas Ulvydas 15 December (Saturday) 16:30 h Filmhuis LUMEN Doelenplein 5, 2611 BP Delft

BACK TO YOUR ARMS/ KAI APKABINSIU TAVE
2010 , 90 min, regie: Kristijonas Vildžiūnas 19 December (Wednesday) 19:00 h in Filmtheater Hilversum Herenplein 5 1211 DR Hilversum

An article by Rasa Paukštytė, Lithuanian film critic

Year of High Hopes

The year 2012 is a time of high hopes for Lithuanian cinema. After long years of waiting, filmmakers finally welcome the Lithuanian Film Centre, the European Union's newest national cinema institution. We hope the emergence of this institution will lead to a more intensive development of cinema culture and a growth in film production, as well as a more radical resolution to our "eternal" problem of poor funding for national cinema compared with other countries. We also hope it will ensure a more lively continuation of existing cinema. The Lithuanian Film Centre will clearly encounter multiple challenges in the context of a recovering economy. A systematic approach is needed to conserve cinema's precious heritage and traditions and combine the most diverse creative needs. This approach is also needed to retain all creative cinematic techniques, especially professional documentary filmmaking with deep roots and worldwide respect, simple but original animation and an ambitious tradition of feature films developed by many generations of creators that never escapes the audience's attention National cinema has long reflected on current problems. But today it more often turns to history, to examine social and historical myths and reality, such as reflections on experiences in the Soviet period that had not been touched on in professional feature films. We may ask why Tadas Blinda. The Beginning (director D. Ulvydas), the most successful Lithuanian commercial costume drama, was only made in recent years. The film has a creative impulse based on the subject of the most popular Lithuanian television film shot in Soviet times, which was devoted to the historic personality known as the "Lithuanian Robin Hood" (Tadas Blinda, 1972, director B. Bratkauskas, series in 4 parts). We may also ask why the story of the Cold War period little-known to a Western audience was only recently introduced in the film Back to your arms (director K. Vildžiūnas) and the topic of personal responsibility for spiritual strength touched on without fear of questioning circumstances, as fear creates barriers between people and countries. Of course, some time was necessary to create a distance between the past and present that is so important for cinema depictions. The most important factor was the will and determination of film producers and directors to revive and develop the tradition of costume drama and historical cinema. The audience at this event will be offered the opportunity to see films that display two different approaches to cinema and the perception of our own identity. Contemporary Lithuanian cinema attempts to use both methods, namely entertaining movies and author filmmaking. So the audience can choose. And the very possibility of choosing is the best proof of our freedom and the freedom of our cinema.

Rasa Paukštytė, film critic 10/11/12

This event is organized by the LITOUWS CULTUREEL CENTRUM in cooperation with Filmhuis Lumen en Filmtheater HILVERSUM, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania.