14 professional short films were selected for FAF’s traditional Nordic-Baltic competition program. The films in the Nordic-Baltic competition program are competing for the festival’s Grand Prix, best Nordic-Baltic Short Film, and the audience award.
Program 2 is strong on stop-motion and the Eastern perspective of northern Europe and the result is excellent. Strong and well-established short filmmakers present their newest work in this program and on their way there have picked up great recognition and/ or new insight. And for our audience, the films give a multiplane perspective, that takes you on a road trip in space, history, time, identity, and eventually death, all that you expect from good films and animated shorts.
Winter 1942. Beyond the Arctic Circle, on the uninhabited island of Trofimovsk in the Laptev Sea, deported people 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. Always living on the edge, they must find a way to stay alive. All experiences depicted are based on the unfaded memories of those who survived.
Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė is a creator of interdisciplinary art. Gintarė is actively involved in creating and curating various art projects and exhibitions. Having completed her postgraduate studies in Art at the Vilnius Academy of the Arts (VAA), she is currently an associate professor in the Academy's Department of Photography, Animation and Media Arts. Gintarė's films and video projects have won awards in international film and media arts festivals. Her film Maskaradas (Masquerade) has been named the best Lithuanian film at the animation festival, “Next Festival.”
Antanas Skučas is an animator, director, artist, and participant in various art projects. He lectures at the Vilnius Academy of the Arts and gives workshops and master classes in creative animation technology. His animated films Laimės Žiburys (Beacon/Candle/Lantern of Happiness) (2016) and Grybų Karas (War of the Mushrooms) (2018) were both named Best of Lithuanian Animated Films for their respective years by “Tindirindis,” the International Festival of Animated Films. He created the animated film series Anykščių Krašto Padavimai (Legends from the Region of Anykščiai) and the 12 projections for 2015 Expo Milan for the Lithuanian EXPO pavilion. In 2015 he established a film production company Tylus kinas.
- Year2023
- Runtime13:21
- CountryLithuania
- DirectorGintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas
- ScreenwriterGintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas
- ProducerGiedrė Burokaitė, Lauras Lučiūnas
- AnimatorSvetlana Bezuglova, Milda Kargaudaitė, Pijus Balkaitis, Antanas Skučas, Aurelijus Čiupas, Rusnė Dragūnevičiūtė
14 professional short films were selected for FAF’s traditional Nordic-Baltic competition program. The films in the Nordic-Baltic competition program are competing for the festival’s Grand Prix, best Nordic-Baltic Short Film, and the audience award.
Program 2 is strong on stop-motion and the Eastern perspective of northern Europe and the result is excellent. Strong and well-established short filmmakers present their newest work in this program and on their way there have picked up great recognition and/ or new insight. And for our audience, the films give a multiplane perspective, that takes you on a road trip in space, history, time, identity, and eventually death, all that you expect from good films and animated shorts.
Winter 1942. Beyond the Arctic Circle, on the uninhabited island of Trofimovsk in the Laptev Sea, deported people 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. Always living on the edge, they must find a way to stay alive. All experiences depicted are based on the unfaded memories of those who survived.
Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė is a creator of interdisciplinary art. Gintarė is actively involved in creating and curating various art projects and exhibitions. Having completed her postgraduate studies in Art at the Vilnius Academy of the Arts (VAA), she is currently an associate professor in the Academy's Department of Photography, Animation and Media Arts. Gintarė's films and video projects have won awards in international film and media arts festivals. Her film Maskaradas (Masquerade) has been named the best Lithuanian film at the animation festival, “Next Festival.”
Antanas Skučas is an animator, director, artist, and participant in various art projects. He lectures at the Vilnius Academy of the Arts and gives workshops and master classes in creative animation technology. His animated films Laimės Žiburys (Beacon/Candle/Lantern of Happiness) (2016) and Grybų Karas (War of the Mushrooms) (2018) were both named Best of Lithuanian Animated Films for their respective years by “Tindirindis,” the International Festival of Animated Films. He created the animated film series Anykščių Krašto Padavimai (Legends from the Region of Anykščiai) and the 12 projections for 2015 Expo Milan for the Lithuanian EXPO pavilion. In 2015 he established a film production company Tylus kinas.
- Year2023
- Runtime13:21
- CountryLithuania
- DirectorGintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas
- ScreenwriterGintarė Valevičiūtė Brazauskienė, Antanas Skučas
- ProducerGiedrė Burokaitė, Lauras Lučiūnas
- AnimatorSvetlana Bezuglova, Milda Kargaudaitė, Pijus Balkaitis, Antanas Skučas, Aurelijus Čiupas, Rusnė Dragūnevičiūtė