The international competition programs of the Vilnius Short Film Festival include films from almost thirty countries

From South Africa, Japan, or Argentina to Hungary, Ecuador, or South Korea, the audience of the 17th Vilnius Short Film Festival will be able to travel wherever they want in cinema halls from January 17-23. The program this year is extremely generous: films from almost thirty countries of the world will be shown in six international competition programs alone, and twenty one programs in total in the festival repertoire. The films of the international competition programs will be evaluated by a competent jury composed of both Lithuanian and foreign film industry experts.

The easiest way to choose what to watch is by the names of the programs - they reflect the theme that unites the five to six films that make up each program. From wealth inequality and politics to the body or digital everyday life, from memory to becoming an adult - the repertoire of the Vilnius Short Film Festival will undoubtedly wake you up from your winter slumber, provoke, laugh or make you cringe with excitement.

"Programs "Empty Pockets" axis - wealth inequality. I think that this topic is particularly bright and relevant in modern day-to-day life. Some of the films in the program are able to poke fun at social inequality, while others skillfully cut sharply and painfully. The program "Empty Pockets" is intended for those who are indifferent to injustice", says Andrius Blaževičius, one of the organizers of the festival's competition programs.

Mantė Valiūnaitė, the organizer of the festival's competition programs, about the program "Carnal Matters" says: “Carnal affairs. What is it? This time it is not erotica, but a whole spectrum of different aspects of the relationship with one's own body and the body of another. From the "recycling" of oneself into an object, to the colorful supporting roles of the little-known actress Jill Goldston, or the show of Oliver Sim, a member of The xx, shining brightly in the foreground. These physical matters are really diverse and can cause the most different reactions, which is why it's interesting."

"Police Violence in the United States, War in Ukraine affected people, the last years of East Germany and the dictatorship in Iran. In the program "Political Violence" films with sharp sensations are shown, responding to historical memory and shocking events of the modern world, the cruelty of which is difficult to close one's eyes to," says Ieva Šukytė, the organizer of the festival's competition programs.

Program "In the (Dis)Communication Zone" will ask the questions: "how far are you willing to go for your followers?" or "could you harass the municipal employees with calls for a simple bench?". Absurd, funny and sometimes shocking films will reveal what happens in closed meetings of an advertising agency, what was recorded by weather cameras in ski resorts and who secretly came up with the idea of ​​​​making animated videos about the life of a woman.

What do we remember and what do we forget? Does that somehow describe the importance of things? Sometimes a sight, a sound or an encounter can trigger an avalanche of memories, and often they are beyond our control. In the program "Remind me" the theme of memory will unfold from very different perspectives and will invite viewers to immerse themselves in the search for both individual and collective memory.

In the sixth international competitive program "Sour Ripe", as the program's name suggests, is dominated by stories of young people. They are all going through personal tectonic shifts in life in their own way. And after them, fundamental changes usually occur. All films are different, each story is colorful and unique. Sour is the right word to describe the films in the program and the mixed emotions they evoke.

This year, the films for the festival's competitive programs were selected by film curator and film researcher Mantė Valiūnaitė, director, screenwriter and educator Andrius Blaževičius and film critic, journalist Ieva Šukytė. Assistants for the selection of competitive programs - director and screenwriter Benita Paplauskaitė, screenwriter Rokas Jonas, director of film and music clips Indrė Juškutė, director, screenwriter Lukas Kacinauskas and director Arnas Balčiūnas.

The jury consists of film industry experts from Croatia, Italy and Lithuania

As every year, during the festival, the international jury will evaluate the competition programs and announce the winners - the best films from the international and national competition programs will be selected and one film will win the main prize - the festival's Grand Prix.

This year, the jury consists of producer and curator of festival programs Inja Korać from Croatia, artistic director of the Italian festival "Lago Film Fest" and film producer Alessandro Del Re. Also, the films of the festival will be judged by director and cinematographer Laurynas Bareiša, well known to Lithuanian film lovers, whose debut feature film "Pilgrims" had its world premiere at the 78th Venice Film Festival, where the film won the award for the best film of the "Orizzonti" program, and even several in Lithuania. "Sidarbiné gerve" awards.

Films of international competition programs:

1. 2720 ​​/ 2720, dir. Basil da Cunha, Portugal, Switzerland
2. How wonderful it is here / Paradise Europe, dir. Paulo Menezes, Leandro Goddinho, Germany, Brazil
3. None of These, dir. Patricio Martínez, Francisco Canton, Argentina, Spain 
4. Dawn / Crack of Dawn, dir. Anna Llargués, Spain
5. Grill, dir. Jade Hærem Aksnes, Norway
6. Jill, Uncredited / Jill, Uncredited, dir. Anthony Ing, Great Britain, Canada
7. A Study of Empathy, dir. Hilke Rönnfeldt, Denmark, Germany 
8. We love Life / We love Life, dir. Hana Vojáčková, Great Britain 
9. Human Resources / Human Resources, dir. Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek, Trinidad Plass Caussade, France
10. Hideous, dir. Yann Gonzalez, Great Britain
11. As It Was, dir. Anastasiia Solonevych, Damian Kocur, Poland, Ukraine 
12. And How Miserable is the Home of Evil / And How Miserable is the Home of Evil, dir. Saleh Kashefi, Switzerland, Iran
13. Margarethe 89 / Margarethe 89, dir. Lucas Malbrun, France
14. Back / Back, dir. Yazan Rabee, Kingdom of the Netherlands
15. Incident / Incident, dir. Bill Morrison, JAV
16. I Was Once Lost / I Was Once Lost, dir. Emma Limon, France
17. The Veiled City, dir. Natalie Cubides-Brady, Great Britain
18. What the Soil Remembers, dir. José Cardoso, South Africa, Ecuador
19. A Bird Called Memory / A Bird Called Memory, dir. Leonardo Martinelli, Brazil, Great Britain 
20. Memories of a Perfect Day, dir. Davina Maria, Belgium, Portugal, Lebanon, Hungary
21. A Kind of Testament, dir. Stephen Vuillemin, France
22. Bugs, dir. Gwai Lou, Malaysia 
23. Offline / Offline, dir. Mauritz Brekke Solberg, Daniel Fure Schwarz, Norway
24. Recordings of a Weather Camera, dir. Bernhard Wenger, Austria, Germany
25. Bangos / The Waves, dir. Yumi Joung, South Korea
26. Municipal Relaxation Module / Municipal Relaxation Module, dir. Matthew Rankin, Canada 
27. Lemon Tree, dir. Rachel Walden, USA 
28. Ebounda / Ebounda, dir. Perrin Sombo, Central African Republic, France
29. 27-eri / 27, dir. Flora Anna Buda, France, Hungary
30. Waking up in Silence / Waking up in Silence, dir. Mila Zhluktenko, Daniel Asadi Faezi, Ukraine, Germany
31. Sauna / Oyu, dir. Atsushi Hirai, France, Japan

All films of the 17th Vilnius Short Film Festival will be shown on January 17-23. in cinemas in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Beautiful and Šiauliai and on the home cinema platform "ŽMONĖS Cinema". The festival is organized by the Lithuanian short film agency "Lithuanian Shorts".