Lithuanian Film Weekend in European Capital of Culture Umeå will strive to become a tradition

30 October – 2 November, in Umeå, town with about 80 thousand inhabitants and two large universities, located in the north of Sweden, a weekend of Lithuanian cinema will be held, which will invite Swedish viewers to learn more about the past and the present Lithuanian cinema, and the cornerstones and turning-points of Lithuanian history, as well as everyday stories it recorded. For three days of the Souls' Day Weekend, in the Folkets Bio Umeå cinema which is loved by cinephiles, a program of 14 Lithuanian films of different genres will be shown, which includes two full-length feature films – "Vortex" by Gytis Lukšas and "Ghetto" by Audrius Juzėnas, three gems of the Soviet Lithuanian poetic documentaries – "Dreams of Centenarians" by Robertas Verba, "Time Passes through the City" by Almantas Grikevičius and "A Trip Across Misty Meadows" by Henrikas Šablevičius; two programs of short films – prize winners in various festivals, documentaries by Audrius Stonys, Arūnas Matelis and Giedrė Beinoriūtė, fictional shorts by Lina Lužytė, Ieva Veiverytė and animated films by Jūratė Leikaitė, Skirmanta Jakaitė, Solveiga Masteikaitė. Lithuanian film weekend program will culminate in two full-length documentary films by Jonas Öhman, Swedish film director, journalist, translator, public figure, for the last few decades living in Lithuania and whose cultural, civic, humanitarian activities are making an increasingly brighter imprint in Lithuania's life.

Jonas Öhman is also one of the main initiators of this film weekend in Umeå.  Umeå, which, together with Riga, was designated European Capital of Culture 2014, is his hometown. In Lithuania he became interested in documentary cinema, learned the Lithuanian language, became familiar with the history of Lithuania, with the character of Lithuanians, and understood the realities of the country, got to know Lithuanian life from the inside, at the same time as if watching it from the outside. This Swede makes films one after another that reveal the most complex episodes of the twentieth century Lithuanian history, tells about the bloody Lithuanian resistance against the Soviet regime, unsuppressed desire for freedom behind the Iron Curtain, about the dilemma between the selfless love for the motherland and conformism, betrayal. Any Lithuanian cinema professional would be proud to have created such conceptually and emotionally forceful films like "The Invisible Front" by Jonas Öhman, which is based on personal story of partisan leader Juozas Lukša-Daumantas, thoughts of the witnesses from both sides of the "front", unseen archival material; or "The Green Musketeers", heroes of which are the militant youth of the '80s, living by the ideas of ecology and universal justice, which manage to shake the foundations of Soviet ideology. Premiere of the latter film in Lithuania is still pending, while audience of the Lithuanian Film Weekend in Umeå will have a chance to see both films by their compatriot, to learn more about the stories of their creation and from behind the scenes.

Swedish audience will meet with Lithuanian director Gytis Lukšas, creator of over a dozen full-length feature films, who will present the story of a young man drawn into viscous vortex of the Soviet reality in the masterfully filmed black-and-white drama "Vortex". The director, long-time chairman of the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union, who knows about the history and personalities of Lithuanian cinema more than any film professional, believes that this event will also be the first serious attempt to revive the tradition of Lithuanian film screenings in Sweden that existed during the years 1990-1997. According to the director, "This tradition, which was anchored in the Swedish-Baltic Film Festival in Burgsvik, Gotland, had been actively supported by the inspirer and organizer of the festival, Hans Waldenström. All those years it had also received support from Visby city mayor's office. Unfortunately, with resignation of the festival organizer, also the tradition faded away." Gytis Lukšas, who was in charge of the Baltic Film program at Burgsvik Film Festival, hopes that Jonas Öhman's personality, his films, wide international interests could play an important role in building the bridge between cinema communities of Sweden and Lithuania. "In Lithuania, Swedish film events, thanks to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden, take place every year and have already developed a considerable crowd of their fans. It would be wonderful if such Lithuanian Film Weekend in Umeå, youthful northern Swedish town, would also become traditional", – states the chairman of the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union.

Lithuanian Film Weekend, included in the program of events of Umeå – European Capital of Culture 2014, in collaboration with Folkets Bio Umeå cinema theatre is organized by the Lithuanian Embassy in Sweden and Lithuania Filmmakers Union, coordinated and supported by the International Cultural Programme Centre.   

 In the photo - Jonas Öhman.