International Kaunas Film Festival
The International Kaunas Film festival is an event held the 3rd time already in 2009 October. This year it undoubtedly overgrew its former success and popularity among cinema goers. While implementing its main purpose to present films of international appreciation, the festival attracts more and more viewers. The films shown here reflect the main public problematic of nowadays and represents tendencies of up to date cinema.
As the festival got a very big attention, it`s programs were shown both in Kaunas and Vilnius city in 2009. The old cinema theatre “Romuva” in Kaunas which regenerated specially for this festival attracted thousands of cinema lovers during 1-11th of October. A newly opened cinema theatre “Pasaka” (Fairy-tail) in Vilnius was also totally filled with viewers. It is easy to come to conclusion that people are missing original cinema – they are simply tired from mass production films. Obviously, there is an equation among the film demand and the supply of International Kaunas festival program.
The International Kaunas Film festival this year prepared 4 different programs including more than 30 films. There works of 2 recent years created by European and American directors mostly dominated. A very specific was the program called “All Muses”. This program represented films about different arts and relations between them. Answers to questions about the purpose of creation, joy and pain of artists and an interplay between cinema and other visual arts were answered here. “All Muses” directly reflected the real backdoor of art. In addition to this, there was a colorful program dedicated only to music prepared. This program called “Music, Which Changes the World” included films created in USA, German, Sweden, Island, Latvia. Thus, despite such a different cultures, the main common topic was clearly revealed in these documentary or creative films. “The Wide Corner” program included films of greatest favour. “33 scenes of life” by Malgorzata Szumowska from Poland, the shocking and impressive “Hunger” by Steve McQueen from Great Britain, “Welcome” by Philippe Lioret from France got the greatest attention by visitors of the last festival. Not less than that interesting was the 4th program “Sounds of North in Cinema”. Viewers had a chance to watch an exceptional documentary film and as well as shocking drama and relaxing comedy all closely related to nowadays life of North countries.
The International Kaunas Film festival is pretty young so far, however it is promising many impressions in the future as so far it considered as a useful and interesting phenomenon in cinema world in Lithuania. Thus, we are impatiently looking for the 4th festival in 2010.
