Kino politika ir jos plėtra Lietuvoje ‘Policy on Cinema and its Development in Lithuania’, a round table discussion at the Seimas parliamentary body of the Republic of Lithuania

A round table discussion was held on 2011 September 16 in Constitution Hall of the Seimas parliamentary body of the Republic of Lithuania on the Policy on Cinema and its Development in . This discussion was arranged by Petras Auštrevičius, a member of Seimas and the Independent Producers Association of Lithuania. 

Members of the Independent Producers Association formulated their issues as follows: “A vital film industry sector offers cultural and economic benefits for the country. Cinema provides high value added operations which, when successfully developed, can become the perfect kickoff point for economic growth and innovations in other industrial sectors as well. Unfortunately the movie industry in is undergoing an especially difficult period. This is not only due to decreased State financing. It is also due to the losses in the positions gained with such difficulty in the international film-making and services markets, which have been occurring rapidly in recent years. There were several reasons for this. There are no active institutions for curating film-making activities in . Furthermore there are not equal competitive conditions in comparison with the means other countries have for promoting investments in the field, which are in shortage here. It is essential to have public discussions on the importance of the film industry as well as the creative and economic potential of the film sector to newly evaluate the current strategy for the film industry in the country.”

The speakers were Arūnas Gelūnas, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania ; Rūta Kačkutė, Advisor to the President on Education, Sciences, Culture and Non-Governmental Organizational Issues; Julius Dautartas, Seimas member on the Education, Sciences and Culture Committee and Rasa Miškinytė, Chairwoman of the Independent Producers Association.

Participants in the discussion included Deividas Staponkus, Culture Vice Minister; Jūratė Laurikėnaitė, Director of the Tax Department under the Ministry of Finance; Dalia Teišerskytė and Asta Baukutė, Seimas members; Mykolas Majauskas, Advisor to the Prime Minister on economic and financial issues; Gytis Lukšas, Chairman of the Lithuanian Cinematographers Union; Rolandas Kvietkauskas, Advisor to the Minister of Culture; Elena Vilkienė, Head of the Professional Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture; Dominykas Širvinskas, Head of MEDIA Desk Lietuva and other, governmental, business and film industry representatives.

There is also an exhibition at the Seimas presenting films made in over the past five years financed both by State and by foreign investments.