Baltic premiere
Baltic Film Competition Winner 2024: The Southern Chronicles
A nostalgic journey back to childhood, full of hilarious firsts.
Shaolin Rimas, the alter ego of author Rimantas Kmita, comes of age in a provincial market town. He dreams of making the star rugby team, idolises Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme for their martial arts skills, and embarks on a romantic quest to find his perfect match. Along the way, he discovers literature as a way to impress others, experiences the pain of bittersweet betrayal, enjoys an independent life to the fullest, and expresses his worldview with philosophical sarcasm.
The film is a masterclass in editing, with Loznitsa’s main collaborator Danielius Kokanauskis skilfully recreating the atmosphere of 1990s youth by mixing archive footage of concerts and street scenes with newly filmed actors. Lithuanian cult bands such as Bix, Foje and Sel are amusingly woven into a classic western disco soundtrack, including hits such as ‘It's My Life’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’, which evoke nostalgic memories during ‘Wind of Change’.
Edvinas Pukšta
Ignas Miškinis (1978) Ignas Miškinis is a Lithuanian director, screenwriter and editor. In 2003, he graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with a MA degree in television directing. In 2006, he wrote and directed his first feature-length film “Diringas”, a black comedy about the exaggerated importance of image in contemporary society. His “Low Lights” (2009) won the Lithuanian cinema award Silver Crane for Best Feature Film. His third feature film “Kings’ Shift” (2016) focusing on duty and humanity, premiered at Montreal and was part of the competition programme at the Duhok International Film Festival in Iraq in 2017. It won the Silver Crane award for the best supporting actor and best composer in 2016 and the Special Prize from the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union for innovative dramaturgy. Miškinis also works as a lecturer at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Diringas (2006), Artimos sviesos (Low Lights, 2007), Karaliu pamaina (Kings' Shift, 2016), Pietinia Kronikas (Southern Chronicles, 2024)
Award for Best Baltic Film, grant of 5000€ from Piletilevi
