A double holiday for fans of Lithuanian cinema - not only the sunny 34th March 11th dawned, but also the 96th that just took place in Los Angeles JAV The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards, during which the most impressive films of the past year are evaluated. The celebration continues - as many as three Oscar-winning films will be screened this Thursday, March 14. starting Vilnius City Film Festival "Cinema spring". The organizers of the festival are reassuring - enough screenings are promised so that everyone who wants to see the films.
Two Oscars for opening film
Although there weren't many surprises when it came to the big nominations, the Best Foreign Film category saw more than one festival favorite from around the world. Awarded the prestigious "Oscar" by Jonathan Glazer "Area of Interest" (The Zone of Interest) – coincidence or not, but this breathtaking film, which accurately portrays the blunt evil of the Holocaust, was chosen as the opening film of "Cinema Spring" this year. It is not surprising that it was "Interesų zona" that was awarded the "Oscar" for the sound direction of the film - sitting in the cinema hall, we really hear more than what we see on the screen.
"Our film shows where dehumanization leads - it is what determined our past, and it determines our present as well. We don't say - "look what they did then", we say "look how we behave now", emphasized Mr. Glazer. The Jewish director became the only Oscar winner to mention the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza in his speech.
The script was born in the grip of quarantine
A very important Oscar nomination - Best Original Screenplay. The film by French Justine Triet, which is already the favorite of "Cinema Spring", triumphed in it "Anatomy of Cross" (Anatomy of a Fall), whose script the woman wrote together with her life partner Arthur Harari.
The intense court drama does not allow to choose favorites - and the role of Sandra Hüller, who also played in "Zone of Interests", was written for this actress. "We started during the pandemic - we were imprisoned at home with two children, so there was no line between diapers and the script," the director recalled in her thank-you speech. She also gushed that the Oscar will help her deal with her midlife crisis.
Rated and heartwarming comedy
"Dream Vacation" (The Holdovers, dir. Alexander Payne) is another film of the "Cinema Spring", whose name was repeatedly heard during the announcement of the nominations of the 96th Academy Awards. Da'Vine Joy Randolph won her first and only Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her career.
The program of the "Masters" festival includes the film "Dream Vacation" - an adventurous comedy about human connection, which melts not only the winter that has engulfed the prestigious academy, but also the hearts of the heroes imprisoned in the snow. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, 37, stars as Academy chef Mary Lamb in the film, a role for which she has already won a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe. Entering the Oscars stage, the actress, famous for the musical "Ghost", did not hide her tears and thanked her mother, who helped her become an actress, and her teacher, who gave important advice to the only black girl in the class.
The films "Interesų zona" and "Kryčios anatomija" presented by the US studio A24 are distributed in the Baltic countries by "Kino Pavasaris Distribution".
The 29th Vilnius City Film Festival "Cinema Spring" will be held on March 14-27. The festival is supported by big partners "ERGO" and "Telia Play", partially financed by the Lithuanian Cinema Center, Vilnius city municipality, "Creative Europe" MEDIA.
