18/03/2025 - We take a closer look at five of the projects pitched at this year’s Lithuanian gathering, the industry sidebar of the Vilnius International Film Festival

Director Rati Tsiteladze pitching his project A Song Without Home (© Tautvydas Stukas)

Cineuropa takes a closer look at five of the projects pitched at Meeting Point Vilnius (MPV), the industry sidebar of the Vilnius International Film Festival, running this year from 17-20 March. For the first time, MPV’s Work in Progress project presentations were divided into two sections: one for films that have already reached the production stage, and another for projects still in development. The showcase unspooled at Forum Cinemas Vingis yesterday.

A Song Without Home - Rati Tsiteladze (Georgia)
This documentary is an intimate exploration of trans woman Adelina’s quest for freedom in Europe and her mother’s struggle with estrangement in Georgia, as they navigate love, longing and the pursuit of self-liberation across two divided worlds. With a budget of €261,600, the film is set for release in 2026 and is currently seeking distributors, sales agents, broadcasters and gap financiers. The pic is being produced by Olga Slusareva for ArtWay Film. Previously, Rati Tsiteladze’s shorts have won over 50 awards and have been screened at around 300 festivals worldwide, including Hong Kong and Locarno. His short Prisoner of Society snagged multiple Oscar-qualifying awards and was nominated for the European Film Awards. “At its core, A Song Without Home is about the sacrifices we must make to live authentically, and the resilience required to overcome the forces that seek to silence us,” says the helmer in his director’s statement.

Hold Me Closer - Irma Pužauskaitė (Lithuania/Latvia/France)
Budgeted at €1.82 million, Irma Pužauskaitė’s sophomore feature homes in on Aldona, an intimacy coordinator who finds out that her partner Audrius has contracted a sexually transmitted disease from a prostitute, and what’s more, he has come out as a sex addict. The protagonist goes on an emotional rollercoaster, questioning the role of intimacy in her life.

The development of the project kicked off five years ago, and since then, it has taken part in many screenwriting labs and co-production markets. On stage, the team said there was room for one more co-producer, which could contribute in terms of sound design and host several shooting days. Slated for a release in 2017, the project has no sales agent or distributors attached. During the pitch, the team showed an intriguing proof of concept, where Aldona is seen working with some actors, and getting more and more suspicious about Audrius’s behaviour. Pužauskaitė’s debut, The 9th Step [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Irma Pužauskaitė
film profile], played at several festivals and was acquired by HBO Europe. She has been working as an intimacy coordinator herself, collaborating with directors such as Olivier Assayas, Marija Kavtaradze, Kristen Stewart and Lasse Hallström.

Barracuda – Tomas Vengris (Lithuania/Estonia/Germany/Italy)
Set in the 1980s, the feature tells the true story of Loreta Gedvilaitė, who sues Soviet Lithuania’s most infamous gangster for defamation after he is convicted of her husband’s murder. Branded a “barracuda” on account of her ambition and status, she fights a legal battle that scrutinises her past and which ultimately rules against her. Budgeted at €1.86 million, the drama is being staged by Emilija Sluškonytė for Austrė Studio, Ivo Felt for Allfilm, Sebastian Weyland for Heimathafen and Leonardo Barrile for Samarcanda Film.

Vengris’s first feature, Motherland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], won the European Audience Award at the ArteKino Film Festival as well as Best Film in the Baltic Competition at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival, and was selected in the Narrative category for the 2020 European Film Awards. The team is seeking sales agents and broadcasters. Delivery is slated by the end of the year, and production is now under way.

Scarecrows – Laila Pakalnina (Latvia/Lithuania)
Budgeted at €162,000, the veteran director’s latest endeavour is a co-production between Uldis Čekulis, of VFS Films, and Giedrė Žickytė, of Moonmakers. The film starts off with the premise that up to 30,000 birds visit Riga Airport and pose a hidden threat every day. Mareks, a wildlife control officer, prays for luck before work, ensuring that birds, animals and aeroplanes never cross paths.

“The title of this documentary refers to the official nickname of the bird and animal control department, present in each airport, whose tasks are handled directly by the fire brigades in some other countries,” Pakalnina explained on stage. “We’re not going to edit a story, but rather a poem – these are the lines of a poem, since the film will feature poetry-based action. We’re on the finish line, working in a Lithuanian studio,” she added, touching on her work with Ieva Veiverytė. The project is being backed by the National Film Centre of Latvia, the Lithuanian Film Centre and Valsts kapitālsabiedrību pārvaldība. “After watching this film, when you go to the airport and take your next flight, it will never be the same again,” she promised.

Three Weeks Under the Sea – Martin Kuba (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland/Lithuania)
Penned by Martin Kuba himself together with Marek Grajciar, this story is set in annexed Crimea. We follow 24-year-old Misha, who returns to his Ukrainian hometown for his estranged father’s funeral, only to find a stranger’s body in the coffin. As he searches for answers, he is drawn into a dangerous world, confronting his father’s mysterious past and his own trauma. Torn between love and the lure of proving himself, Misha soon realises that the weight of his father’s legacy comes at a deadly cost.

Budgeted at €1.3 million (€1.17 million of which have been secured), the project is slated for delivery next winter. Kuba’s debut feature is being produced by moloko film, PubRes, Furia Film and Broom Films. Key creatives include editor Jaroslaw Kaminski, DoP Bartosz Bieniek, composer Jonatan Pastirčák, and script doctors Luigi Ventriglia and Lucie Boksteflova. The cast is led by Makar Tikhomirov and Tinatin Dalakishvili. The team is seeking sales agents, festivals and additional financiers.