14/01/2015 - The Lithuanian gathering is to open with Xavier Dolan’s Mommy

The 20^th edition of Kino Pavasarias – also known as the Vilnius Film Festival – will open on 19 March with Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. The Canadian film, about a widowed mother struggling to look after her violent son, garnered rave reviews when it premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The largest film festival in Lithuania has also started to unveil competition titles for the New Europe – New Names programme. Included in the 2015 selection will be the Ukrainian hit The Tribe [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which has enjoyed an impressive festival run, and The Summer of Sangaile, the Lithuanian movie by Alanté Kavaïté about young love that was also selected for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

Other movies announced so far for the section include the Estonian title In the Crosswind [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martti Helde
interview: Martti Helde
film profile] (recently voted Best Estonian Film of 2014 by national film critics), the Latvian production Modris [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the Bulgarian psychological thriller The Lesson [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Val…
interview: Margita Gosheva
film profile], and Hungarian films For Some Inexplicable Reason [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Afterlife [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Virág Zomborácz
film profile], both of which proved extremely popular after premiering at the 2014 Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

This is the New Europe – New Names competition programme’s seventh year. The winning film will be chosen by a qualified jury and awarded a cash prize, granted by the Vilnius City Municipality.

Kino Pavasaris will run from 19 March–2 April and will also include a full retrospective of the works of French filmmaker Leos Carax.