The first Lithuanian culinary comedy "Tasty" was presented in Vilnius with kompot

Red carpet was rolled out for a large group of the most famous film and theatre actors yesterday for the premiere of the first Lithuanian culinary comedy “Tasty” (Lithuanian – “Gardutė”). The first viewers – the film crew, friends, buddies and celebrities – raised glasses of kompot for the success of the film. 

Eglė Vertelytė, writer of the screenplay and director of the comedy, who has cooked this cinematic soup, says that she created the film for those who want to relax and laugh in the cinema, but not to leave the theatre completely empty. 

“Tasty” is a comedy not only about food, but also about what goes on behind the scenes of a TV reality show. The director, who often uses light humour and irony in her films, makes no secret of the fact that her new film was inspired by the LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and Television) TV canteen and the faces of popular TV hosts that occasionally pop up there. This comedy has some fairy-tale elements: two employees of a Kaunas canteen "Gardutė", passionate cooks Ona and Saulė, get involved in a high-class cooking reality show. The main prize is to have your own restaurant, which one of the experienced chefs also wants to get very much. 

"In this story, unlike fairy tales, not everything is black and white," – says the director, adding that every viewer will find their own truth in the film.  

Elena Ozarinskaitė, an actress living in France and playing the role of Ona, has also found herself in the role: “I want to be, not to play, because when you create a role, you take a lot out of yourself – the experience can make it bigger or smaller, you understand what it means to lose, what it means to be abandoned, to be hurt, what it means to be happy. Tragedy and humour in cinema, as in life, are very close.” 

Speaking before the premiere, Agnieška Ravdo, who plays the role of Saulė, said: “The director wanted our personal experiences to be imprinted in the film, so that the characters are recognisable.” 

The story told in the culinary comedy by filmmaker Vertelytė is universal, and before the premiere in Lithuania, at the international premieres of “Tasty” at the Cottbus Film Festival in Germany, the Cork Film Festival in Ireland, and the Class A festival Black Nights in Tallinn, the audience in the theatre laughed and applauded the film crew. 

Production of the film was partly financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre and Lithuanian National Radio and Television, film's partner – Nafta Films.