LITHUANIA

REMEMBER TO BLINK Per Arti

2022 – DCP – colore – 109’

Direction: Austeja Urbaite

Screenplay: Austeja Urbaite

Cinematography: Julius Siciunas

Editing: Gabriele Urbonaite, Austeja Urbaite

Set design: Juste Vazgyte

Original music: Domas Strupinskas

Costumes: Monika Vebraite

Cast: Dovile Kundrotaite (Gabriele), Anne Azoulay (Jacqueline), Arthur Igual (Leon), Inesa Sionova (Karolina), Ajus Antanavicius (Rytis)

Producer: Živile Gallego

Production: Fralita Films

World Sales: Film Republic

synopsis

Jacqueline – a woman who is obsessed with control – adopts two children from a foreign country with her husband. To help with translation, the kids are accompanied by Gabriele, a twenty-year old who is just starting to taste the sweetness of feeling power.

the director: Austeja Urbaite

Austeja Urbaite was born in 1991. She grew up surrounded by nature, in a small village near Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2010, she began studying film directing at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Her student short film entitled The Etude (Etiudas, 2013) earned considerable attention, and was a prelude to her highly acclaimed debut short, The Bridges (Tiltai, 2015). Both of these movies received numerous nominations and awards on the film festival circuit. Remember to Blink (Per Arti, 2022) is Austeja’s first feature film.

director’s statement

“In every relationship, whether it’s with another person or towards a situation, there is a very thin line between love and selfishness. One that is incredibly easy to cross without even noticing. When I was making this movie, I was trying to comprehend all of that both within myself and within the people who crossed my path. I still find the duality of human nature to be one of the most interesting and fascinating things in the world.”

filmography

2013 Etiudas (The Etude, short)

2013 This is Reality (short)

2015 Tiltai (The Bridges, short)

2022 Per Arti (Remember to Blink)

awards and festivals

2022 Warsaw IFF – Concorso Opere Prime e Seconde Competition 1-2 Award 

2023 Wiesbaden goEast: Premio FIPRESCI Prize

2023 IndieLisboa Int. Independent FF: Premio del Pubblico Audience Award

2023 Lithuanian Film Awards: premio Silver Crane al Miglior Film, Miglior Regista Silver Cranes as Best Film, Best Director

2023 Vilnius IFF – Concorso Nuova Europa, Nuovi Nomi New Europe, New Names Competition