At the Locarno festival, the world premiere of L. Bareiša’s film was met with a long standing ovation Culture

From September 20 “Sisters” will be shown in Lithuania.

The world premiere of the film took place over the weekend in a special Palexpo space that can accommodate almost three thousand spectators. It was attended by director L. Bareiša, actors Gelminė Glemžaitė, Paulius Markevičius, Giedrius Kiela, Agnė Kaktaitė, producer Klementina Remeikaitė, members of the creative team from Latvia.

L. Bareiš was impressed by the live and emotional reaction of the audience, when the applause did not stop after the premiere of the film, and the audience asked questions to the entire creative team for almost an hour in a special space of the festival.

Photo by A. Solomins/Director Laurynas Bareiša

“It was felt that the audience of the festival is interested in author’s cinema and appreciates it. There were both laughs and deep questions after the screening. I am happy to present the film at the Locarno festival, where in recent years the latest films have been presented by the impressive directors Albert Serra, Radu Jude, Pedro Costa”, said L. Bareiša.

According to the producer Klementina Remeikaitė, the audience of Locarno received the film “Sisters” warmly and curiously – after the premiere, they were surprised by the number of questions that were addressed both to the director and to all the actors.

“Although Locarno, like Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, belongs to the group of “A” class festivals, it is a cozy festival that raises the flag of auteur cinema high. The entire creative team received special attention. We are happy with the world premiere and we are looking forward to the premiere in Lithuania and how our viewers will receive the film”, says K. Remeikaitė.

Locarno – famous directors and actors

L. Bareiša will compete in the international competition program with the latest films of such world-famous directors as Hong Sang-soo, Wang Bing, Ben Rivers. Saulė Bliuvaitė’s debut film “Akiplųpa” was also selected for the competition program. The winners of the competitive program will be announced on August 17.

The “Golden Leopard”, which is considered one of the most prestigious auteur film awards, will be chosen by a jury made up of world-famous directors, actors and producers. It will be chaired by director Jessica Hausner from Austria, whose latest films “Little Joe” and “Club Zero” were presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Jury member Italian actor Luca Marinelli won the hearts of the audience after his memorable roles in Martin Eden and Eight Hills. Another member of the jury, Indian director Payal Kapadia, was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes this year for her film All We Imagine As Light.

Premiere in Lithuania – from September 20.

The film “Sisters” will take viewers to a hot summer weekend at a farm, where two families come to rest. In the mysterious drama, word by word, action by action, a mutual rivalry begins to erupt, which turns in an unexpected direction. The film will be released in Lithuanian cinemas from September 20.

The film “Sisters” was created by the Lithuanian production company “Afterschool”, the Latvian film company “Trickster Pictures” contributed to the production of the film. The production of the film was partially financed by the Lithuanian Cinema Center, LRT, the Latvian National Film Center and the Eurimages Film Support Fund of the Council of Europe.

“Sesses” is the second feature film of L. Bareiša. The director’s debut film “Pilgrims” in 2021. won in the “Horizons” program of the Venice Film Festival. This is one of the highest ratings in the history of Lithuanian cinema.