Rimtautas Šilinis retrospective  

 ...We Were Nearby

With a letter from his brother, composer Mikas Petrauskas, in his pocket, the lanky boy Kipras arrives in Saint Petersburg to sit in for the entrance exam at the Conservatory. A couple of Lithuanian folk songs are enough to convince the commission that standing before them is a person with exclusive voice and talent. And they were not mistaken - Kipras Petrauskas’s tenor continued to sound in the Maria theatre of Saint Petersburg for a whole decade from 1911, and a special friendship with one of the most famous Russian soloists, Fiodor Shaliapin, began there. “When the practice session began, my heart was squirming like the tail of a sheep being sheared” - K. Petrauskas recalls his first on-stage introduction to the celebrity. In the film, the strong bond between the two soloists is evidenced in F. Shaliapin’s letters to K. Petrauskas after the later returned to Lithuania for good. The women who lived right next to and worked together with the famous opera singers - soloist Rosalia Gorskaya, Tamara Davidova, wife and singer Elena Žalinkevičaite-Petrauskienė share their memories about the two men.

Signed, Arkitekt…

“Well, everybody remembers that guy Lenginas Šepkus. People flock to him from Moscow, from Vilnius. All sorts of gods he makes. They ain’t like real gods, though. Just like neighbours from your street, you can’t put them in the churchyard” - this is how the folk artist and wooden sculpture carver Leonidas Šepkus was described by one of his neighbours, a resident of Šiaudynė village. 
The film is a portrait of an uneducated, yet talented man. Even though L. Šepkus only ever learned to read and write from his mother, a village singer and poet, and although his exclusive talent as a wood carver only came to light when he was 50, his wooden gods, animals and birds not only settled over two halls of the Rokiškis Local History Museum, but have also travelled all the way to Budapest and New York. Šepkus confesses he stopped going to church, but says that the heavens still provide him with ideas for carvings.
The emotional drama of the film is highlighted by the music of the composer V. Ganelinas.

Juozas Baltušis on Film

“Stop climbing up and down the Himalaya, instead take a walk on our Lithuanian soil, write about what you get from people and the reality of life” - this is the advice Kazys Boruta gave to Juozas Baltušis after reading his first short story. The writer took the advice and soon penned the story “Sugar Beet” (Cukriniai Runkeliai). “A random person in literature” - this is the title J. Baltušis suggested for his biographical film.

It is a cinematic portrait, where the writer appears before the camera to add his own witty retorts to the every-day situations being filmed: “So what now, do I start acting? After all, it’s funny to try and demonstrate how a person writes.” It’s a film within a film. The camera follows J. Baltušis and sees him watching the material, honestly commenting on it with irony and self-awareness.

A Painting

The film tells the story of one of the most significant Lithuanian expressionist painters, initiator of the ARS group, professor Antanas Gudaitis (born 1904). The painter lets the film crew into his studio and into his life. With a new canvas before him, he ponders out-loud about “a work dedicated to be ruined”. When asked what he does with paintings he’s not satisfied with, A. Gudaitis replies: “I shove them in the stove.” The artist not only openly discusses his creative process before the camera, considers his old age and shares his thoughts on art, but also expresses a strong dissatisfaction with the jury committee that selects works for a painting triennale. This film is not just about an interesting, creative personality, but also about a man who is honest towards others as well as himself.
Silence in the film organically fills up with music by the composer B. Kutavičius.

Entrance with a free tickets what will be available at the venue.

Rimtautas Šilinis

Rimtautas Šilinis has won four prizes for Lithuania’s best documentary, Italian TOK silver medal Cortina d’Ampecco for the film Where’s the Queen’s Gold (Kur Karalienės auksas?) (1972), gold medals at the Budapest and Odesa film festivals, Grand Prix at the Union AlmaAtos festival for the film Scar (Randas) (1985). The film Post Scriptum to an Old Film (Post Scriptum Senam Filmui) won him the best director award at the Union festival in Vilnius (1981).

R. Šilinis has also been awarded the Government Prize of the Republic of Lithuania.

Selected Filmography
Lithuania During World War II. Cinema Documents, 2006
Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania. 1918-1940, 1997
The Island, 1990
Noah’s Ark, 1988
Scar, 1985
...We Were Nearby, 1984
Inheritance for the Twelfth Grandson, 1981
A Painting, 1981
Post scriptum to an Old Film, 1980
Juozas Baltušis on Film, 1979
Searching for the Self, 1977
Signed, Arkitekt..., 1972
Where’s the Queen’s Gold?, 1971