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Competition Programme: Lithuanian Animation
2024 archive

Again at BLON, we are also announcing a competition programme of Lithuanian animated films! From the most memorable works by students to virtuoso short films, the entries will be judged by a panel of international experts, and audiences will be able to discover for themselves the diversity of Lithuanian animation!

Jury:
Anastasiya Verlinska

Anastasiya Verlinska

Director of LINOLEUM Festival, Lithuanian Competition Jury · Ukraine

Anastasiya Verlinska has worked as a project manager for one of the biggest Eastern European film companies, FILM.UA Group, implementing projects to promote both film and animation in Ukraine. In 2014, she joined the team of the LINOLEUM animation festival as a program coordinator, and in 2016, she became its director. Apart from the festival, Anastasiya organises screenings of both international and Ukrainian animation, as well as numerous educational projects that help develop the local animation industry. She also works as an expert at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
Sara Koppel

Sara Koppel

Animation director, animator, Lithuanian Competition Jury · Denmark

Sara Koppel is an animator, creator of artistic installations, and illustrator from Denmark. Her films have been showcased at various international festivals and have garnered over 20 awards. In today's animation landscape, Sara stands out for her organic traditional hand-drawn animation style and bold thematic choices. Her work often addresses environmental issues, gender, and sexuality, and she is also recognized as one of the pioneers of erotic animation. One of Sara Koppel's latest projects is the illustrated graphic novel/comic "Den lille bog om..." ("The Little Book About...") (2020), which she created in collaboration with body and mind therapist, as well as non-fiction writer, Molly Mørch.
Gediminas Šiaulys

Gediminas Šiaulys

Filmmaker, visual artist, founder of the studio PetPunk, Lithuanian Competition Jury · Lithuania

Ged Sia (Gediminas Šiaulys) is a filmmaker, visual artist and founder of the studio PetPunk. His works gained recognition by world's leading art & design magazines. In 2009 PetPunk won the "Young Guns" award by the Art Directors Club (New York) and Canadian Boards magazine included duo in top 6 of "New Wave of Designers", while in 2010 UK's leading design magazine Computer Arts featured PetPunk as "The New Wave of Animation". In 2017 Ged Sia wrote and directed short film "Running Lights" which won him several international awards and was selected to over 80 film festivals around the world. Recently he was working on visualizations for artists Mac Miller, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny. Ged is a guest lecturer at Vilnius Academy of Arts, he speaks and sets workshops at various conferences.
Partners:
AVAKA
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Mindaugas and Crusade for Love and Freedom
Mindaugas and Crusade for Love and Freedom

2023 / Lithuania / 10 min 11 s In 1251 Lithuania, Mindaugas' wedding day takes an unexpected turn when love of his life is mysteriously taken. Determined to rescue her, he embarks on a quest that spans from hell to heaven and even higher dimensions. Directed by Gytis Baranauskas Screenwriter: Gytis Baranauskas Producer: Gytis Baranauskas Company: Vilnius Academy of Arts

Thoughts About The Universe That Will Keep You Awake
Thoughts About The Universe That Will Keep You Awake

2023 / Lithuania / 3 min 52 s No matter how hard we will try to save the Earth, even if we succeed, one day the sun will die just like everything else around her. So, what's the meaning after all? Directed by Greta Semionovaitė Screenwriter: Greta Semionovaitė Producer: Greta Semionovaitė Company: University for the Creative Arts

The One Who Knows
The One Who Knows

2024 / Lithuania, France / 12 min 4 s Anxious teenager Ūla is taken on an unexpected adventure during her swimming practise, through which she grows-up and learns to see her body anew. Directed by Eglė Davidavičė Screenwriter: Eglė Davidavičė Producers: Agnė Adomėnė, Delphine Schmit Company: Art Shot, Tripode Productions

In Perpetuum
In Perpetuum

2023 / Lithuania, Canada / 11 min 29 s A young woman is going through the metamorphosis of becoming a mother. Is it possible to accept a new self? Directed by Birute Sodeikaite Screenwriter: Birute Sodeikaite Producer: Birute Sodeikaite

Plica Polonica
Plica Polonica

2023 / Lithuania / 7 min 41 s Plica polonica is a disease people used to believe in that would make your hair uncombable. The main protagonist of the film- a severely tangled girl- goes on a search for a “cure”. She seeks answers from the most tangled of them all- the infamous Baba Yaga. Directed by Agata Tracevič Screenwriter: Agata Tracevič Producer: Agata Tracevič Company: Vilnius Academy of Arts

Between Timid and Timbuktu
Between Timid and Timbuktu

2024 / Lithuania / 3 min 3 s "Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut was published as a cheap fantasy paperback book in 1959. But the writer really reached much deeper. We are only part of the system - our fate is predetermined. And who controls it - the Universe, the Big Bang, God, extraterrestrial civilizations or the planet Tralfamador - is still a mystery to us. And, as K. Vonnegut writes, the purpose of Earth and people can be incredibly stupid. Meaninglessness to impossibility. We are puppets of some Tralfamadorians to help them fulfill their naive purpose. Directed by Saulius Juknevičius Screenwriter: Saulius Juknevičius Producer: Valentas Aškinis Company: Vilnius College of Technology and Design

Hoofs on Skates
Hoofs on Skates

2024 / Lithuania, France / 12 min 24 s In a winter wonderland two friends are having a blast ice-skating on a frozen lake when suddenly a strange and unfamiliar world cracks open underneath them. Now they must learn how to deal with the other kind, not letting the fear and preconceptions rule. Directed by Ignas Meilūnas Screenwriter: Titas Laucius Producers: Justė Beniušytė, Ignas Meilūnas Company: "Kadrų Skyrius"