Monoklis

Once a year, a quiet and secluded village in the north-western part of Lithuania comes alive to celebrate Catholic Easter, doing its best to preserve the vanishing ancient tradition of the Guardians of the Cross. With gentle humor observing the preparations of the local community for the vigil and immersing the audience in Easter night, the filmmakers raise questions about the relationship between the sacred and profane in the modern world.

Almost 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union we can observe the return of rhetoric of a strong person of the totalitarian era. Could this be facilitated by the remains of totalitarian subservience in our heads and minds? The Director of the film Ivo Briedis and journalist Rita Ruduša, both born in the USSR, are going on a journey to explore the phenomenon of “Homo Sovieticus” and to discover whether a human being of the totalitarian mindset has specific geographical boundaries.

Soviet eighties. A little town in the periphery. After his parents' divorce, 11-year-old Rolanas and his dad move in next door to same-aged Emilija. Friendship is born between the kids, however, shyness or fear of opening up makes them communicate through the wall, sitting in their own balconies, or through a socket connecting their flats. Emilija's parents also appear to be on the verge of divorce. The children discover common topics, activities. Unfortunately, a nearly tragic accident prevents Emilija to go to the balcony. This encourages both children to set out for a "real" date.

This investigative documentary explores the methods through which Russia influences the domestic policy of the Baltic States – by dividing the local community, promoting nostalgia for the Soviet Union and dismissing the recovered independence of the Baltic States.

A docu-poem about people living for over two decades in the Buda forest, near the closed down Kariotiskes dump in Lithuania. After four years of work, this film captures the perspective of the dump dwellers. It tells the story about the dissolving community, its uniqueness, daily routine, specific way of life, every-day joys and sorrows.

Dinner is a short documentary about people from the most vulnerable social layer. Every day they gather at the door of a charity canteen, waiting for a plate of hot food. Half-hour waiting makes for a dozen life stories revealing the fragile line between human hope and despair.

It is an another world. A world far away from city noise and so called “modern culture”. A world that was created by God, not by human beings. Jonas, called by the villagers the “Bull”, because of his unbelievable strength, lives in such a world. He walks through his life unrushed and certain, reminding a today‘s man of his fragility. He reveals a world where life and death, joy and sadness, power and weakness coexist together inseparably, a world which fills up with apocalyptic visions and the “end of the world” feeling.

Conversations On Serious Topics is a film without exterior action, props, landscapes or special effects. Its main characters are children and teenagers with a special ability to describe the surrounding world. Intimate conversations with them reveal the picture of the modern world -- at times melancholic, at times comical, at times dramatic. Shot in a minimalist fashion, the film raises questions about loneliness, love, God, the world and human relations. "The world is people." "Don't you believe in God? I can teach you how to start believing..."

After a long time away from the homeland, father and son are destined to visit. However, such place doesn't exist and no one's even heard of it. Suddenly a strange bus appears, going to this place. Father and son are its only passengers. After a long trip, the bus arrives at a peculiar place with no houses, no people, no nature, and no land... only white mountains standing there like a blank, empty page.