New York Baltic Film Festival
Life and Love
Helen Takkin, 118 min, Estonia, 2024.
In Estonian with English subtitles.
U. S. Premiere
Set during the Great Depression in 1933, this compelling drama follows Irma, a young woman who leaves her rural home to pursue a writing career in the city. There, she becomes entangled with her boss at a local print shop, who convinces her to become a live-in maid while pursuing her romantically. Though Irma is at first captivated by his charm and lavish lifestyle, his toxic behavior and power games soon draw her into a web of manipulation. Meanwhile, as political tensions rise within the city around them, Irma and her loved ones soon learn that romantic illusions come with a very high price.
Virtual Screenings: November 10-17
8 Views from Lake Biwa (Biwa järve 8 nägu)
Marko Raat, Estonia, Finland, 2024
126 minutes. In Estonian with English subtitles
North American Premiere
A poetic fairy tale set in an isolated Estonian fishing village. On the shores of a shimmering lake, two teenage girls discuss their love interests, whispering prayers and poems while watching yachts sail to Kyoto. But magic is fading around them in the wake of a recent disaster, as villagers indulge in erotic art and spiritual spells; and it soon becomes clear that intimacy won’t help them process their loss.
Producer Ivo Felt will present a Q&A following the screening of the film.
Reception following the screening hosted by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.
Virtual Screenings: November 9-17
A Postcard from Rome (Pastkarte no Romas)
Elza Gauja, Latvia, 2024
88 minutes. In Latvian and Italian with English Subtitles
North American Premiere
Latvian couple Ernests and Alvīne discover they can take advantage of a lottery scheme to fulfill their lifelong dream of traveling to Rome. As they embark on their international holiday, it becomes clear that Alvīne's Alzheimer's disease is rapidly progressing – a reality that neither party is ready to face.
Director Elza Gauja will present a Q&A following the screening of the film.
Virtual Screenings: November 9-17
Parade (Paradas)
Titas Laucius, Lithuania, 2024
94 minutes, In Lithuanian with English subtitles
New York Premiere
A Baltic comedy following a former couple’s decision to finalize their divorce through Catholic Court — with unexpected consequences.
Virtual Screenings: Monday, November 11 - Sunday, November 17
The Mammoth Hunt (Mamutų medžioklė)
Aistė Stonytė, Lithuania, 2024
94 minutes. In Lithuanian with English subtitles
New York Premiere
In 1968 Lithuania, the collapse of the communist regime is still 21 years away — but dissent is already growing. In that year, acclaimed theater director Jonas Jurašas directs a scandalous, avant-garde, allegorical and thinly-veiled anti-Soviet production entitled “The Mammoth Hunt.” The performances play to packed houses, until word gets back to Moscow. Soon the play is condemned as anti-Soviet and abolished from the repertoire, leading Jarasas and his family to leave the country for America (eventually to Sarasota) to continue his career. But within its cancellation is another act of defiance — two months after its final performance, a cast locks themselves within the theater to film the play. Filmmaker Aistė Stonytė’s The Mammoth Hunt revisits the history of the production, gathering recollections from its surviving participants and attempting to track down the secretly recorded film, while also following Jurasas’ new life in the U.S. and his return to Lithuania in a post-Soviet world. In doing so, Stonytė tells an incredible story of creativity, bravery, and the life of a talented theater director.
Festival & Awards History
Silver Crane award for Best Documentary at the Lithuanian National Film Awards
Director Aistė Stonytė will present a Q&A following the screening.
Virtual Screenings: November 8-17
Maria's Silence (Marijas klusums)
Dāvis Sīmanis, 104 min, Latvia 2024
In Latvian, German, and Russian with English subtitles
North American Premiere
A powerful historical drama based on the true story of Maria Leiko, a famous actress who, late in her career, becomes a witness and victim to the brutal choices of the Stalin regime. In 1937, acclaimed silent film star Leiko travels to Russia after learning of the birth of her granddaughter. But when she discovers the tragic circumstances of her birth, she is persuaded by KGB agents to remain in the country — abandoning her cinema career to instead join Skatuve, the Latvian State Theatre in Moscow. But soon she discovers that she is being manipulated by the government amid its purges of political enemies. As a network of traitors, informers, and NKVD agents surround her, she is forced to choose between family and career, and between her ideals and the lies of Stalin’s totalitarian regime.
Director Dāvis Sīmanis will present a Q&A following the screening.
Virtual Screenings: November 10-17
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