War, Marriage, & More at New York Baltic Film Festival

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 01 November 2022 14:14

Written by Brad Balfour

Mariupolis 2

Now in it’s fifth year. the New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF), presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, will be running November 2-13, 2022 as a hybrid festival featuring Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian cinema. The in-person portion of the fest takes place at New York’s Scandinavia House (58 Park Ave, New York, NY) from November 2nd to the 6th and virtually November 4th to the 13th.

The theme for this year’s festival is  Past or Present, inspired by the intense emotional response felt in the Baltic countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jūle Rozīte, the festival's Head of Programs, states: “When the war started, Eastern Europeans and many of us globally experienced the dissonance of seeing both past and present play out simultaneously. Suddenly, family traumas and collective memories were forced to the surface, as the inherited stories of occupation we have grown up hearing were playing out in real-time in Ukraine. Cinema from the Baltics can remind us of what was, act as a warning, elicit communal resistance and instill hope for a better tomorrow.”

The festival opens on Wednesday, November 2 with  the animated feature My Love Affair With Marriage, directed by Latvian-born and Brooklyn-based Signe Baumane.The film is a wild semi-autobiographical musical journey, exploring the notions of love, sex, and romance through the lens of neurochemistry. Baumane’s fiercely original and visually arresting work was recognized with the Jury Distinction for Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival this year.

The documentary Mariupolis 2 is a harrowing look at Russia’s brutal siege of Mariupol in Ukraine this year. The director, Mantas Kvedaravičius, was tragically killed during filming. Mariupolis 2 was recognized with a Golden Eye Special Mention at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The festival will also screen the film’s predecessor, Mariupolis, in which Kvedaravičius documented the lives of people during Russia’s attacks on Mariupol back in 2014.

Burial, directed by Emilija Škarnulytė, is a hypnotizing meditation on the power and danger of nuclear energy, presenting the paradox of scientific advancement coupled with environmental destruction with a meticulously crafted, eerie soundscape. Škarnulytė will be joined for a discussion with MoMA curator Sophie Cavoulacos following the screening.

To learn more, go to: https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/

New York Baltic Film Festival
November 2 - 13, 2022

Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave
New York, NY 10016

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