Due to the pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival, which was scheduled to take place between May 12 and 23, did not happen in the traditional format. It is also not possible to move the festival to autumn, as other major film festivals usually take place at the time.
This year, the Commission has selected 56 films of 2067 that applied, and this selection will be branded by Cannes Festival to help distribute them around the world to reach spectators.
The film by Šarūnas Bartas tells the story of post-war Lithuania, first years of Soviet occupation and resistance movement. The film takes place in 1948, when the war is over but Lithuania is in ruins.
The film is a co-production of five countries, Lithuanian studio "Kinema", Latvian "Mistrus Media", Portuguese "Tetrafilms", Czech "SirenaFilms", Serbian "Biberche".
Films from the Baltic States are rarely included in the official selection of the Cannes festival, which is why the event is special.
Latvian film professionals play an important role in the creative team - film artists are Jurģis Krāsons, Jānis Kalniņš and Aivars Žukovskis, the team included Kristaps Kalsers, Jānis Bijubens, Rihards Bērziņš, Andris Komarovs, Jurģis Šeibaks, Romāns Dzjubenko, Sabīne Strauberga, Annika Vīķe, Olivers Sprincis; prep associate producer is Antra Gaile.
The film is scheduled to premiere in Latvia in autumn 2020 at the Riga International Film Festival (“Riga IFF”).
