Kaunas International Film Festival, October 9 -20

The second Kaunas International Film Festival begins on October 9 in Kaunas. This year the festival has grown bigger - more films, more programmes, and more cinema auditoria. From October 9-20 cinema lovers will be able to see more than 40 films in four auditoria in two cities.

The theme of this year’s festival “The train doesn‘t wait!” urges the viewers to see valuable films from all over the world during their short showing in Lithuania. More attention will be paid to trains in a special programme, demonstrating how closely trains have been related to cinema since the beginning of cinematography.

“This year we have several pleasant surprises on offer for our viewers: they will be invited not only to see internationally acclaimed films, but also to meet the film makers, and attend discussions and lectures”, said Ilona Jurkonytė, the director of the Kaunas International Film Festival. As Ilona Jurkonytė says, “The viewers know that for us a film does not end with the credits. We seek to uphold cinema culture and we want the festival films to be memorable, to inspire, to stimulate imagination, to encourage thinking, and to spread tolerance”.

The Kaunas International Film Festival will include six special programmes. The organizers of the festival continue the main programmes which started last year. The programme “Identity” will reveal the fates of people from different communities, nations, countries. “Music moves the world” will attract not only cinema lovers, but also music lovers as films about music will be presented in it. Films, distinctive in form and narration will be included in the “Storytelling” programme.

For the first time in Lithuania the new cinema of Ireland will be presented in the special programme. In memory of the actor, singer and composer Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian films with the maestro acting and including his voice and music will be presented in a special programme “One Hundred Spring-times”.

The festival in Kaunas will take place at the Forum Cinemas and the Small Stage of the Kaunas State Drama Theatre on October 9-16. This year the Kaunas International Film Festival will cater for cinema lovers in Vilnius, too, as part of the festival programme will be shown at the Skalvija cinema in Vilnius from October 16-20.

Details of the programme will soon be announced on the festival website www.kinofestivalis.lt and in the daily newspapers Kauno diena and Vilniaus diena. Tickets for the showings at the Forum Cinemas are available from the box-office of this cinema, for the showings in Kaunas State Drama Theatre from Tiketa offices, and for the showings in Vilnius, they will be available from the Skalvija box-office.