The ninth edition of the international film industry event Meeting Point – Vilnius (MPV) at the 23^rd Vilnius Film Festival Kino Pavasaris, which ran for three days (27-29 March), has come to a close with the awards ceremony held in Vilnius City Hall on 29 March.

For another year, the industry meet-up gave international and Lithuanian film professionals the chance to forge new connections and partnerships. Most of the events, panel discussions and pitching sessions explored new opportunities for promoting and broadening the appeal of films, offering a unique strategic overview that should benefit the emerging local industry, which aims to have a strong presence in the near future. In line with the reformed nature of the festival, which is intended to become a hub for new discoveries and debutant directors, MPV had a similar focus, which was naturally reflected in the awards.

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Starting with the main prizes, the jury, comprising Pamela Biénzobas Saffie, Jean-Baptiste Bailly Maitre and Romanas Matulis, selected three projects in post-production – out of the 23 that participated (see the news) – from the Coming Soon Session to be screened at the “Vilnius Goes to Cannes” initiative. The teams behind Lithuanian historical drama Isaac [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jurgis Matulevičius
scheda film] by Jurgis Matulevičius, the German-Russian political documentary Russia today by Annegret Sachse and the Latvian horror film EVA by Kristians Riekstins will get the chance to screen a 20-minute excerpt of their works in progress during the special event at Cannes’ Film Market.

In the technical categories, Marija Stonytė’s documentary Gentle Warriors, about a group of three women who have enlisted for military service in the Lithuanian Army as volunteers, received the Sound and Video Post-Production Prize, worth €3,500 and offered by the Vilnius Film Cluster association in partnership with music production studio RoofSound and post-production house MADSTONE. Furthermore, the Lithuanian Audiovisual Works Copyright Association (AVAKA) awarded Gentle Warriors with the Best Presentation of a Lithuanian Project Award, which comes with €1,000.

Finally, Lithuanian director Audrius Mickevičius was awarded posthumously for his in-production project Exemplary Behaviour [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], as the Best Baltic Project. The film was pitched by its producer Rasa Miškinytė and will be completed by Nerijus Milerius. The prize is accompanied by digital storage and promotion services worth €2,000, provided by the Baltic View platform and Noir Lumière.

Here is the complete list of winners at the ninth Meeting Point – Vilnius:

Vilnius Goes to Cannes
Isaac [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jurgis Matulevičius
scheda film] – Jurgis Matulevičius; producer: Stasys Baltakis (Lithuania)
Russia today – Annegret Sachse (Germany/Russia)
EVA – Kristians Riekstins; producer: Gints Grube (Latvia)

Post-Production Prize by Vilnius Film Cluster
Gentle Warriors – Marija Stonytė; producer: Giedrė Žickyte (Lithuania)

Best Baltic Project by Baltic View and Noir Lumière
Exemplary Behaviour [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] – Audrius Mickevičius, Nerijus Milerius; producer: Rasa Miškinytė (Lithuania)

Best Presentation of a Lithuanian Project by AVAKA
Gentle Warriors – Marija Stonytė