10 years and 10 films! As BLON Animation and Video Games Festival celebrates its first round anniversary, it looks back and remembers its comrades. From a single Lithuanian film in the first year of the festival to a thriving competition programme of Lithuanian filmmakers in its fourth year, the festival bears witness to this breakthrough in animation, and invites you to enjoy a festive retro programme of short films by Lithuanian filmmakers that have been screened over the past decade, and have been made in a wide range of techniques and themes. The program will culminate with the premiere of a brand-new 11th film!
2019 / Lithuania / 2 min 3 s
It’s a film about a grandmother patiently waiting for a visit.
Directed by Vykintas Labanauskas, Dominyka Adomaitytė Screenwriters: Vykintas Labanauskas, Dominyka Adomaitytė Producer: Vykintas Labanauskas Company: Glass Elephants Creative Studio
2017 / Lithuania / 11 min 00 s
This is a story about the eternal miracle of life and death. The unfortunate death of a wild hare turns into a remarkable experience for children who find his body and bury it in a sand box. Now buried, the hare's life fades away and dozens of magical creatures that lived inside him leave his body in search for a new home. The hare's life ends by merging with nature, but is reborn in the plants and animals around it. This fairy-tale for children encourages us to think about what death is.
Directed by Gediminas Šiaulys Screenwriters: Gediminas Šiaulys, Andrius Kirvela Producer: Miglė Pelakauskė Company: PetPunk
2015 / Lithuania / 13 min 30 s
“Cities of Steam and Stone“ – short steampunk animation adapted from A. Tapinas novel „Hour of the Wolf“ – winner of “Book of the Year 2013” award in Lithuania. The narrative starts at the beginning of XX century in alternative history Vilnius, Cholera‘s cemetery, when at the crime scene legate Antanas Sidabras finds robbed body with unordinary wounds. He suspects that this murder might be only the beginning of crimes to come, so he starts his investigation.
Directed by Tomas Mitkus Company: Studio Mitkus
2024 / Lithuania / 7 min 54 s
In a fusion of poetry and animation, the film narrates the journey of a woman's soul through endlessly unfolding lives, seeking to find true connection and meaning amidst existential chaos.
Directed by Rasa Joni Screenwriter: Rasa Joni Producer: Laura Almantaitė Company: UPĖ Media
2020 / Lithuania / 16 min 08 s
Frigid winter in a war-devastated, present-day city. Several years have passed since the destruction, and the city is slowly rebuilding. A thirty year-old guy is living as a squatter in an apartment with a group of strangers. He struggles to survive and also to find a little more comfort. One night he nearly burns the flat down, hoping for a warmer sleep. His roommates start hating him, so the guy has to find another shelter.
Directed by Robertas Nevecka Screenwriter: Robertas Nevecka Producer: Giedrė Burokaitė Company: Meno avilys
2022 / Lithuania / 10 min 30 s
Patrick lives in a children’s home. After seeing a parrot in the zoo, he becomes obsessed with them, which makes it even harder for him to belong and find parents who want to adopt him.
Directed by Meinardas Valkevičius Screenwriter: Kotryna Šeduikytė Producer: Akvilė Bliujūtė - Janušė Company: UAB Meinart
2021 / Lithuania / 1 min 38 s
I remember waiting for him to return from work. As a child, I felt offended that he didn't have time for me, that he was constantly tired. But all the moments we did spend together are priceless to me. This short animation is a reminder to parents that no matter what, their children love them very much, follow their example, and are always waiting for them to return home.
Directed by Eva Rodz Screenwriter: Eva Rodz Producer: Eva Rodz Company: Vilnius Academy of Arts, ArtEZ University of Arts
2023 / Lithuania / 13 min 21 s
Winter, 1942. Beyond the Arctic Circle, on the uninhabited island of Trofimovsk in the Laptev Sea, deported peoples struggle to survive. This is the place chosen by Soviet authorities to deport vast numbers of inhabitants from the occupied Baltic countries, Finland, Ukraine and elsewhere. In this harsh, alien landscape, man is a mere speck. Against the backdrop of such majestic isolation, many thousands face the savage indifference and cruelty of nature.
Directed by Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas Screenwriters: Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas Producers: Giedrė Burokaitė, Lauras Lučiūnas
2023 / Lithuania, United Kingdom / 6 min 0 s
A film generated by AI for humans. Don’t worry – humans are creative and better than AI. You are the ones who will always have the upper hand, because you have the ability to imagine, to feel, to love. Thank you for existing.
Directed by Julius Zubavičius, Antanas Skučas Screenwriter: Artificial intelligence Producers: Julius Zubavičius, Antanas Skučas Company: MB Tylus kinas
2021 / Lithuania / 4 min 32 s
“Roots” is a short animated movie about teenagers born in the independent Lithuania. The film talks about buildings and hair, revealing the complex nature of growing up in a post-Soviet country. The film takes a look at teenagers that explore their emotional connection with the environment and their appearance, merging animation and interviews with the kids who are living in the brutalist Soviet-built areas. The film is hand painted frame by frame, using ink on paper and enhanced with photo and video collages.
Directed by Jonas Juškaitis Screenwriter: Jonas Juškaitis Producer: Jonas Juškaitis
2016 / Lithuania, Austria, Canada / 7 min 0 s
Short animation movie, based on Nathan’s Jurevicius award winning graphic novel. For generations the Face Changers have made the clay tokens that alter the winds and faces of their kin. This month the youngest is tasked to take the ten thousand footsteps to the top of the east mountain and engulf the town in the winds of change. Innovative, colorful animation invites to travel into magical world.
Directed by Nathan Jurevicius Screenwriter: Nathan Jurevicius Producers: Miglė Pelakauskė, Vitalijus Žukas Company: OKTA studio, PetPunk