This weekend in Vilnius - films reflecting the real America
On Friday, “Redux: Independent American Film Cycle“ arrives at Vilnius cinemas. Films created by independent American filmmakers little known in Lithuania grabbed Kaunas audiences and this weekend will be screened in “Skalvija“ and “Forum Cinemas Vingis“ theatres in Vilnius. The Oscar award winning Milk with Sean Penn will be shown twice in Vilnius to give the cineastes more opportunities to see the film.
“Redux: Independent American Film Cycle” is a part of a month of culture called “Opening Windows to a different America” (“Atverkime langus kitokiai Amerikai”). According to Rona Rathod, the U.S. cultural attaché in Lithuania, the widespread opinion that American films are well known in Lithuanian is wrong.
“In reality, the big Hollywood movies shown here are just a slice of the films produced in America each year. The U.S. actually has a very long-standing, robust tradition of making independent films which tend to portray life in America more accurately than Hollywood blockbusters”, – said the cultural attaché. – “These films, both in their production and content, reflect the quintessential maverick American spirit where taking chances is always welcome and rewarded. It is what our society is built on. We are grateful to the Kaunas International Film Festival for ensuring that good American films are shown in Lithuania.”
Beside the celebrated Gus van Sant’s Milk about the fight for civil rights, “Redux: Independent American Film Cycle” offers a poetic portrait of San Francisco in the film Medicine for Melancholy, and The Pleasure of Being Robbed – a story about a delicate soul in a huge city.