In The Southern Chronicles [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ignas Miškinis
scheda film], crowned Best Film in the Baltic Film Competition at Tallinn Black Nights (see the news) and inspired by a novel by Rimantas Kmita, Lithuanian director Ignas Miškinis follows one young man’s dreams of sporting glory and his first loves in the 1990s. Needless to say, it is bound to hurt: either on the rugby field or off it.

Cineuropa: It’s surprising that you can actually find any philosophy in rugby. Do you share this guy’s love for the game?
Ignas Miškinis: When I read the novel, I didn’t know anything about rugby. While preparing for the film, I realised that if I didn’t at least try to understand the basics of the game, I wouldn’t be able to communicate directly with the players. So, I signed up for rugby training. My joints and tendons didn’t fare well, but I learned a lot and even fell a little in love with that sport. It helped me greatly during filming, especially when interacting with the players and coaches – I’ve made many new and incredibly tough friends. Rugby strengthens human connections, develops both the body and the mind, and stimulates teamwork. It’s a very friendly sport. I think rugby should be mandatory in all secondary schools.

He's an unusual hero – he’s not afraid of change, even when others mock him. Were you interested in people who are slowly accepting the fact they can be many things? Those who, just like Bruce Lee, can be both fighters and poets?
Actually, it doesn’t really matter who you are in life: a poet, a redneck, a nerd or a troublemaker. If something happens, something that makes you start reflecting on the world around you, and if you begin to distinguish even slightly between what’s fake and what’s real, you start to grow and come of age. It doesn’t even depend on a person’s age.

What did you want to focus on when showing that particular time? You play with 1990s clothes and with the music, but growing up and love are always the same.
Yes, I cared about the clothes, the music, the faces and the visuals – in other words, about how everything would look. I tried to avoid adding a modern perspective or interpretation, and I wanted to eliminate any sense of distance. My goal for the film was for it to feel like it was shot back in 1993, using all the tools and inevitable limitations of that time.

As for the themes, yes, you could call it a “coming-of-age story” – and not just for the protagonist. It was also a coming-of-age period for my country, as we had just regained independence after escaping the brutal and grotesque swamp of the Soviet era. However, we were immediately faced with new challenges. Like small children, we were trying to grab a hold of something, to latch onto anything, often struggling to distinguish real things from fakes. Almost everything you can see in the film was close to me, too. I was about the same age in 1994 as the character in the movie. The circumstances were the same for everyone; I just didn’t quite belong to that group. I was more into longer hair and heavier music.

I don’t know Kmita’s novel, but why did you like it particularly?
As I mentioned, after reading the novel, I had to get more familiar with rugby, but not only that. I also met Rimantas Kmita and screenwriter Eglė Vertelytė. They are both from Šiauliai, the city where the story takes place. To be honest, this is the first film I didn’t come up with myself. The producer, Lukas Trimonis, suggested I direct it. Together with Eglė, he had already bought the rights to adapt it and even had a first draft of the script. Then, these connections and relationships slowly started to develop and strengthen. Kmita gave us permission to “do whatever we wanted”, and after a year, Eglė was writing the fifth version of the script.

Do you think it might be a good time for Lithuanian cinema in general? I’ve heard these opinions after a few festivals this year, and I wonder if you also notice any changes?
I believe Lithuanian cinema has grown a lot recently. Well, maybe “grown” isn’t quite the right word. Everyone grows everywhere all the time, and that’s fine. It would be more fitting to describe it as having liberated itself, or become braver and younger. There is no longer this desire to copy something or someone. More and more original new creators and their fresh ideas are emerging, ideas that are understood and accepted globally. I think Lithuanian films are currently among the most interesting and relevant in Europe. No joke. Next year, even more exciting works will be released. You’ll see!