Following a successful reception of the first Lithuanian Film Festival in Auckland last year, local expats are again offering New Zealanders the latest film gems from their home country, both for kids and adults. Screened at the Academy Cinemas on Sunday, 17 July, the festival is a part of the international centennial celebration of one of Lithuania’s most prominent cultural figures - poet, filmmaker, and artist Jonas Mekas, a native Lithuanian who emigrated to New York in 1949 and became known as a godfather of American avant-garde cinema. Mekas collaborated with a host of artists including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Patti Smith and Sonic Youth.
This year’s festival programme also consists of support screenings for Ukraine: Mariupolis (2016) in memory of the film’s director Mantas Kvedaravicius recently killed by Russian soldiers while filming Mariupolis 2 in Mariupol, Ukraine; and the winner of the Horizons category at the 78th Venice Film Festival, Pilgrims (2021).
Click here for more information from the Festival Facebook page