Kaunas International Film Festival Explained

Kaunas International Film Festival Tarptautinis Kauno kino festivalis
Image Alt:	A white and yellow building with an black and yellow multi-sided tower on the roof at the front. It says "Kinas" in yellow. Below it is the word "Romuva" in red.
Location:	Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania
Established:	2007
Founders:	Visos mūzos
Artistic Director:	Ilona Jurkonytė
Language:	Multiple; subtitles in Lithuanian and English
Website:	Official website

Kaunas International Film Festival (Lithuanian: Tarptautinis Kauno kino festivalis) is a film festival founded in 2007 by Visos mūzos and held in October each year in Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania.^{[1] [2] [3]} It has at times visited other cities in the country, such as Panevėžys and Nida.^[4] Ilona Jurkonytė is the festival's artistic director and Tomas Tengmark is its programmer.^{[5] [6]}

Purpose

The Kaunas International Film Festival was launched in 2007 with two aims in mind: to stop developers from turning the Romuva, Lithuania's oldest cinema, into a casino, and to seek homogenization of the country's film culture.^{[7] [8] [3]} It specifically celebrates art-house film making but shows indie and internationally acclaimed movies alike, both from and outside of Lithuania.^{[3] [8]} The festival is associated with the network Eye on Films, which is hosted by Media Mundus, a member of the CICAE network, and the domestic arm of the European Network of Young Cinema NISI MASA.^[8] In addition to screenings, many panel discussions, masterclasses, and lectures are offered as part of the festival.^[3] Additional programmes change annually, but the four constants are Wide Angle, which explores "contemporary tendencies in the film art"; Identity; Music Moves the World; and All the Muses, which are films focusing on art.^[8] The Silver Audience Award Cup was introduced in 2010.^[9]

The 2020 festival was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was the first digital festival in Lithuania.^[10]

Years

• 2007: September 28 through October 7
  • Films from 32 countries; 1500 attendees^[11]
  • Additional programme: "Retrospective: Nouvelle Vague"
  • Audience award: White Palms (Hungarian: Fehér tenyér), directed by Szabolcs Hajdu^[2]
• 2008
  • Films from 17 countries; 7000 attendees^[12]
  • Additional programmes: Special Focus on Irish Film, "One Hundred Springtimes. Tribute to Vytautas Kernagis", and Train Time
  • Opening film: Love and Other Crimes (Serbian: Ljubav i drugi zločini), directed by Stefan Arsenijević
  • Favorite film: Bliss (Turkish: Mutluluk), directed by Abdullah Oğuz^[13]
• 2009: October 1–17
  • Additional programmes: Nordic Sounds in Film
  • Favorite film: Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret^[14]
• 2010: October 1–17
  • Additional programmes: Film retrospectives on Béla Tarr, Deimantas Narkevičius, and Piotr Dumała, Animation, Animated Film (Estonia and Latvia), Best of Slovenian Stop-motion Animation, Elephant Program for Children, Best of Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival (European short animation and short film), Special Screenings
  • Opening film: Eastern Drift (Lithuanian: Indigene d'Eurasie), directed by Šarūnas Bartas^[15]
  • Silver Audience Award Cup (inaugural): Heartbeats (French: Les amours imaginaires), Xavier Dolan^[9]
• 2011: September 27 – October 9^[16]
  • Additional programmes: "After a Scene...", "Coming Attractions", "Films of the Golden Period: Slovak New Wave," Red Westerns, "Extended Glimpses", Tribute to Adolfas Mekas, Special screenings: Jonas Mekas Films, Special Screenings: Avant-garde women programme curated by Jonas Mekas
  • Opening film: The Field of Magic (Lithuanian: Stebuklų laukas), directed by Mindaugas Survila^[17]
  • Silver Audience Award Cup: How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster?, directed by Norbert López Amado and Carlos Carcaso^[18]
• 2012
  • Silver Audience Award Cup: Narcissus (Limburgan; Limburger; Limburgish: Narcizas), directed by Dovile Gasiunaite^[19]
• 2013: September 25–29
  • 90 films^[20]
  • Most popular film: Lore, directed by Cate Shortland^[21]
• 2014
  • Favorite film: The Reunion (Swedish: Återträffen), directed by Anna Odell^[22]
• 2015: September 30 – October 11
  • Opening film: The Green Musketeers, directed by Jonas Ohman^{[23] [24]}
• 2016: No festival held
• 2017: November 30 – December 13^[25]
  • Opening film: Oblivion Verses (Spanish; Castilian: Los Versos del Olvido), directed by Alireza Khatami^[25]
• 2018: September 20–30^[26]
• 2019: September 26 – October 6^[27]
• 2020: March 19, April 2 (online only)
  • Exhibitions Videograms (Harun Farock)^{[28] [10] [29]}
  • Opening film: Proxima, directed by Alice Winocour^[30]
• 2021: No festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Notes and References

1. Web site: Calendar of cultural and sports events in Lithuania. UEFA 2016: Lithuania–Estonia. 2014-10-06. Baltic News Network. 2022-04-14.
2. Web site: Hungarian winners:. n.d.. NFI of Hungary. 2022-04-12.
3. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival. 2011. Film Festivals. 2022-04-12.
4. Web site: Short stop in Lithuania. BiWeekly. 2022-04-14.
5. Web site: Artist Film in Focus—Kaunas, 2019. 2019. OnAndFor. 2022-04-14.
6. Web site: KAUNAS FILM FESTIVAL, LITHUANIA – SHEILA SEACROFT’S REPORT (1/2). 2011-10-15. Seacroft. Sheila. Neil Young's Film Lounge. 2022-04-12.
7. Web site: Beyond the Avant-Garde: Film Culture in Lithuania. 2016-12-02. The Culture Trip. 2022-04-12.
8. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival. n.d.. FestAgent. 2022-04-12.
9. Web site: Kaunas Film Festival and Silver channel to present the Audience Award for the second year. 2011-09-26. FilmFestivals. 2022-04-12.
10. Web site: Kino Pavasaris Film Festival Goes Digital and Comes to Your House. 2020-03-19. Kaunas. 2022-04-12.
11. Web site: Kaunas Film Festival - one and a half thousand spectators . 2007-10-22 . Kino Festivalis . 2022-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071116042717/https://kinofestivalis.lt/ . 16 November 2007 . dead.
12. Web site: Antrąjį Kauno kino festivalį aplankė daugiau nei septyni tūkstančiai žiūrovų. 2008-10-28. Kino Festivalis. 2022-04-12. lt.
13. Web site: Antrąjį Kauno kino festivalį aplankė daugiau nei septyni tūkstančiai žiūrovų . 2008-10-28 . Kino Festivalis . 2022-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090607113047/http://www.kinofestivalis.lt/lt/naujienos/Antraji-Kauno-kino-festivali-aplanke-daugiau-nei-septyni-tukstanciai-ziurovu/ . 7 June 2009 . dead.
14. Web site: Festivalio žiūrovų Kaune favoritas – "Sveiki atvykę". 2009-10-15 . Kino Festivails . 2022-04-12 . lt . https://web.archive.org/web/20140420082746/http://www.kinofestivalis.lt/lt/naujienos/Festivalio-ziurovu-Kaune-favoritas-Sveiki-atvyke . 20 April 2014 . dead.
15. Web site: Action on the set in Kannas. 2010-09-29. The Baltic Times. Boyce. Laurence. 2022-04-12.
16. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival: Last chance to submit your film. 2011-06-06. Film New Europe. 2022-04-12.
17. Web site: Jitters in Kaunas for KIFF’s fifth edition. 2011-10-07. van Hoeij. Boyd. cineuropa. 2022-04-12.
18. Web site: “How much does your building weigh, Mr. Foster?” awarded the Silver Audience Award 2011 at Kaunas International Film Festival. 2012-02-03. Film Festivals. 2022-04-12.
19. Web site: The Audience Award of Kaunas International Film Festival goes to Lithuanian film "Narcissus". 2012-10-18. Film New Europe. 2022-04-12.
20. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival. 2013-09-25. ARS Baltica. 2022-04-12.
21. Web site: Populiarusis Kauno kino festivalio filmas "Lorė" – kino teatruose . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714043217/http://www.kinofestiva . 2013-12-10 . Kino Festivalis . 2022-04-12 . lt . 14 July 2014 . dead.
22. Web site: Kauno kino festivalio žiūrovų simpatijas susižėrė "Susitikimas" . 2014-10-10 . Kino Festivalis . 2022-04-12 . lt . https://web.archive.org/web/20160730015142/http://www.kinofestivalis.lt/lt/naujienos/Kauno-kino-festivalio-ziurovu-simpatijas-susizere-Susitikimas . 30 July 2016 . dead.
23. Web site: Kauno kino festivalį atidarys "Žalieji muškietininkai" . 2015-09-28 . Kino Festivalis . 2022-04-12 . lt . https://web.archive.org/web/20160730124128/http://kinofestivalis.lt/lt/naujienos/Kauno-kino-festivali-atidarys-Zalieji-muskietininkai/ . 30 July 2016 . dead.
24. Web site: "KAUNO KINO FESTIVALIS ’15": PER GYVENIMIŠKĄ PRIZMĘ. 2015-10-15. NARMONTĖ. REDA. 2022-04-14.
25. Web site: 10-asis Tarptautinis Kauno kino festivalis. 2017. Kas Vyksta Kaune. 2022-04-14. lt.
26. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival: What Not to Miss?. 2018-05-09. Kaunas. 2022-04-12.
27. Web site: TARPTAUTINIS KAUNO KINO FESTIVALIS. 2019. Fotografijos Muziejus. 2022-04-14. lt.
28. Web site: Kaunas International Film Festival. 2020. Forensic Architecture. 2022-04-12.
29. Web site: Videograms . n.d. . Kino Festivals . 2022-04-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220306051854/https://kinofestivalis.lt/ . 6 March 2022 . dead.
30. Web site: Kaunastic News for Cinema Lovers: Kino Pavasaris is Back. 2020-03-04. Kaunas. 2022-04-12.