Feature documentary Night Mayor, from Ukrainian filmmaker Kate Tiuri and producers Hanna Burdina and Mira Oyetoro, won the €5,000 best project in development prize at the works-in-progress section of Meeting Point Vilnius (MPV), while another documentary Scarecrows. from seasoned director Laila Pakalnina picked up the €5,000 best production award.
It was the first year the works in progress section was split into two separate parts, development and production. MPV is the industry programme of Lithuania’s Vilnius International Film Festival (VIFF), also known as Kino Pavasaris.
Night Mayor focuses on an immigrant from Greece in Ukraine who is also the titular night mayor of Kyiv and the desire of ordinary young Ukrainians who are trying to rave and celebrate their youth while bombs drop and sirens sound as the Russian invasion continues.
In an unscripted moment, Algirdas Ramaška, CEO of VIFF, who also operates arthouse distributor Kino Pavasaris Distribution across Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, bounded on stage to say he wanted his company to distribute the documentary across the Baltic states before embracing the team.
Ramaška told Screen Tiuri’s documentary reminded him of how important it is to support Ukrainian filmmakers and how vital and energetic the documentary teaser material was. “We have to put this film into cinemas to show audiences hope and our ability as humans to try and lead normal, peaceful lives in these troubling times,” Ramaška said.
Meanwhile, Scarecrows, a co-production between Latvia’s VFS Films and Lithuania’s Moonmakers, details the story of the wildlife around Riga airport and a wildlife control officer whose job it is to make sure aeroplanes and the animal life don’t come too close.
The jury was comprised of filmmaker and producer Denis Côté, Berlin International film Festival Forum head Barbara Wurm and Spain’s Bendita Film Sales’ Jorge Blanch.
Wurm said she was particularly impressed with the development projects. “MPV is doing a great job inviting more festival programmes and distributors to the industry event,” she added.
Blanch noted MPV is a happy hunting ground for sales agents to meet filmmakers and producers. “Of course it’s hard to tell from five minutes or script but there are some with potential for Bendita to board.”
A second jury consisting of Venice Critics’ Week head Beatrice Fiorentino, Filmfest Cottbus director Bernd Buder and France’s mk2’s Jacques-Antoine Jagou handed out a further two awards, both supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre.
The €5,000 best Lithuanian coproduction prize went to China Sea by Jurgis Matulevičius, a collaboration between Lithuania- Taiwan-Poland and the Czech Republic. The drama follows a world-famous martial-arts champion who is banned from his sport for injuring a girl on the street and finds himself living in his desolate hometown, struggling to get along there.
Accepting his award Matulevičius said: “We are privileged to be here as Europeans to be able to celebrate European cinema. But there is a war going on right now in Ukraine. I want to say ‘Fuck Russia. Fuck Trump. Love Ukraine,’” to rapturous applause.
The €3,000 best Lithuanian development nod was taken home by Greta Griniūtė for Independent Child, a family drama set in Lithuania in the 1990s. It details the story of a 10-year-old girl and her mother who find themselves at odds over faith and independence. The project also secured the Content Licensing award and a cheque for €5,000 from Lithuanian’s TV platform Telia Play
Venice’s Fiorentino said the jury agreed early on to look out for young filmmaking talent, describing Matulevičius as someone with a special eye for images and imagery. Her jury also gave a special mention to Tomas Vengris and his second feature Barracuda, a coproduction between Lithuania, Estonia, German and Italy.
Inesa Kurklietytė’s family-orientated film I Am Going to Change the World was awarded a free accreditation to Cannes’ Marché du Film
Cottbus’ Buder was back at MPV after selecting Ignas Miskinis’s coming-of-age comedy drama Southern Chronicles for Filmfest Cottbus after seeing it at a closed screening at last year’s event. The film is now the most successful at the Lithuanian box office since records began in 1993.
This year’s MPV lineup included animated features for the first time. The Armenia-France feature Zako, which recently won the Eurimages coproduction development nod atCartoon Movie, picked up the Madstone sound and colour grading studio award, worth €8,000.
A true story based on the graphic novel Zako - Crude Fruit by Tigran Mangasryan, Zako details the events of WW2 through the eyes of Soviet Armenian painter Sargis Mangasaryan, dubbed Zako by the Germans, who survived a Nazi POW camp by drawing portraits of his tormentors.
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