Action on the set in Kannas

KAUNAS - The fourth edition of the Kaunas International Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 1 -17, looks set to provide cinema enthusiasts in Lithuania and beyond with the opportunity to watch numerous award-winning films from across the globe whilst getting a glimpse of some very special guests from the world of cinema.

The festival opens with the Lithuanian premiere of Sharunas Bartas’ Eastern Drift (Indigene d’Eurasie) a film that is already being touted as one of the best Lithuanian films of 2010. Already receiving hugely positive reviews after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, the film tells the story of a drug dealer’s search for a new life that takes him to Vilnius, Moscow and Paris after a deal goes wrong. It’s an intense and compelling affair that blends the tough style of a traditional thriller with art house sensibilities with strong direction from Bartas (who also stars) and some excellent performances which saw it pick up three Silver Cranes (the National Film Awards of Lithuania).

There’ll be more award-winning films on offer as Kaunas will also bring audiences the likes of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, which won the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Festival and Lebanon, a winner of the Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. The former is a magical tale of an elderly man who, whilst suffering from illness, begins to remember all of his previous incarnations. Directed by the Thai filmmaker and artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul (don’t worry if you have trouble with the name, as he also goes by the name of ‘Joe’), the KIFF screening will be an excellent chance to discover one of the most unique and complex filmmakers currently working in cinema today.

The latter film is an altogether more disturbing and tense affair as director Samuel Moaz uses his experiences during the 1982 Lebanon war to create a powerfully claustrophobic piece about four young men behind the controls of a tank and pushed into a combat situation that they are hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with.

There’ll also be an emphasis on animation with special programs dedicated to Estonian and Latvian Animated Short Films, and some wonderfully inventive animated features that show that there is a lot more to animation than Disney. These include The Illusionist, a stunningly beautiful and lyrical film based on an unused script by the legendary film director Jacques Tati, whilst Metropia (featuring the voices of the American actor and enfant terrible Vincent Gallo and Juliette Lewis) is a strange and distinctive film that peers into a dystopian future of mind control and a population for which the morning skies do not exist.

One of the main guests of honor will be the Hungarian filmmaker and screenwriter Bela Tarr, who will be on hand to screen such films as his 1994 black comedy Santango. At more than seven hours long, it will certainly prove to be a test for audiences used to the brief nature of commercial cinema. But those who do experience it will be immensely rewarded with a wonderful piece about a post-communist Hungarian village where time has stopped under a never-ending rain. Add in screenings of his earliest films to his 2007 piece The Man from London, the Tarr retrospective will reveal one of the true greats of cinema who challenges ideas of conventional cinema and pushes the boundaries of film language.

Indeed, like so many good film festivals, the Kaunas International Film Festival attempts to look beyond the traditional notions of cinema being ‘nothing more that entertainment.’ The films and events on offer give KIFF audiences a chance to see films that they would otherwise never get the possibility to see, whilst showing that cinema is an important tool in helping us understand ourselves and society. As the KIFF director Ilona Jurkonyte says: “The documentary filmmaker Robertas Verba used to say: the meaning of life is the search for the meaning of life. And so we are searching for it in the films and meetings of our program.”

There are many more films, events and special guests on offer. For those who want to discover just how diverse and different films can be, then KIFF will give you the perfect opportunity. Those who already know will be booking their tickets as we speak.

The Fourth Kaunas International Film Festival will take place in film theaters “Forum Cinemas,” “Pasaka” and “Skalvija” in Kaunas and Vilnius.