Earth of the Blind
one film reflecting the invisible sensations of a human being ( A . Stonys , Earth of the Blind ), whilst in another revealing the feeling of expectation and anxiety in the Lithuanian people prior to the declaration of independence ( A . Matelis , Ten Minutes before the Flight of Icarus ), or expressing the archetype of national character ( the films of R . Verba , H . Šablevi ius ).
All films presented digitally and in Lithuanian with English subtitles .
The Old Man and the Land dir . Robertas Verba , Lithuania , 1965 , 20 min .
Robertas Verba ’ s first documentary film , described by film critic . .
Živile Pipinyte as “ the ‘ ice-breaker ’ which broke through the ice of Soviet ideology to form the peculiar stylistics of Lithuanian documentary film .” The hero of this film is the bright Lithuanian villager Anupras , whose archaic worldview becomes a symbol of the ethno-cultural Lithuanian identity that was often opposed to the identity constructed by Soviet propaganda .
Time Passes through the City dir . Almantas Grikevicius ˇ , Lithuania 1966 , 20 min .
The main hero of this film is the city of Vilnius . Vilnius is also a metaphor for the historicity of Lithuania . However , this film is unique not only for its cinematographic historical reflections on the statehood of Lithuania ; it also reveals the history of cinema , encompassing both Russian ( Soviet ) montage techniques and the first traces of cinéma-vérité in Lithuanian cinema .
A Trip across Misty Meadows dir . Henrikas Šablevicius , Lithuania , 1973 , 10 min .
This film details the dismantling of the old railway Siaurukas in Lithuania and the construction of its new modern replacement . The old railway and the new railway become the symbol of the clash between the archaic rural Lithuania and Soviet industrialization . The film was often considered as an expression of the archetypes of Lithuanian character .
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The Dreams of the Centenarians dir . Robertas Verba , Lithuania , 1969 , 20 min .
Though created to commemorate the centenary of Lenin , the documentary is far from celebrating soviet ideology . In the film people who are one hundred years old talk about their lives . Their remembrances illuminate traditions and past of Lithuania .
The Black Box dir . Algimantas Maceina , Lithuania , 1994 , 38 min .
Algimantas Maceina reveals the theme of the genocide of Lithuanian society from a very personal perspective in this experimental documentary . He films the repatriation of the remains of his grandfather from Siberia to Lithuania . This personal approach to societal tragedy – the genocide caused by the Soviet regime – links personal to collective memory and erases the boundaries between personal film archives and publicly acknowledged films .
Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus dir . Arunas - Matelis , Lithuania , 1990 , 10 min .
A manifesto for the post-Soviet generation of Lithuanian filmmakers who rejected straightforward declarativity and immersed themselves into the silent observation of reality . Arunas - Matelis traces the beginnings of post-soviet transformation not in the main squares of Vilnius but observes it in the daily life of the inhabitants of Užupis – a historical quarter of the old town of Vilnius . The film , awarded in the Oberhausen , Bornholm and Pärnu film festivals , was also screened as a feature in the Cannes Film Festival .
Earth of the Blind dir . Audrius Stonys , Lithuania , 1992 , 24 min .
Filmmaker Audrius Stonys explains , “ the film came into reality while trying to answer a question : how can one film the invisible ?” The film subtly interweaves moments of interaction between people , animals and their surroundings . Long shots , the absence of words and the meditative images interplay with music , opens up to the viewer a haptic and philosophical realm which is beyond the visible . In 1992 the film received the FELIX ( European Film Academy award ) for the Best European Documentary film .
Total running time : 142 min . Free screening .
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