Gabriela Urbonaite, director of Renovation, a Lithuanian-Latvian coproduction, was the guest at today’s press conference at the Manaki Brothers festival. The film had its premiere as part of the Proxima programme at the latest Karlovy Vary Film Festival. At IFFC this film is part of the competition selection supported by the Adriatic Network of Festivals and is competing for the “Adriatic Audience Award”.

-Currently many buildings in Lithuania are having their façades replaced, but can the change of facades change the remains or the habits of the past, Urbonaite said.

She said she was happy to be in Bitola with her film and that she was surprised by the great reception at IFFC Manaki Brothers and the other festivals where it was screened. In addition to this film, the audience in Bitola can vote for four other films in this programme: Adam’s Sake, directed by Laura Wandel, Maldoror directed by Fabrice du Welz, Christy directed by Brendan Canty and Perla directed by Alexandra Makarova.

These five films will be shown in all six festivals that are members of the Adriatic Network of Festivals – the Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Herzeg Novi Film Festival (Montenegro), the Ljubljana International Film Festival (Slovenia), the Belgrade Original Film Festival (Serbia), Zagreb Film Festival (Croatia) and IFFC Manaki Brothers.

After the screening the viewers get a voting ballot and the winner will be announced at the end of November at the Belgrade Original Film Festival. IFFC Manaki Brothers has been an official member of the Adriatic Network since last year. The network was initiated by the Sarajevo Film Festival.

In addition to the films in competition for the Adriatic Audience Award at the 46 IFFC Manaki Brothers, the Adriatic Network of Festivals will also organize the new edition of ECOSCOPE, a joint project in cooperation with the Green Vision festival in Potsdam, with the screening of the documentary MIYAZAKI: THE SPIRIT OF NATURE, which focuses on the connection of the Oscar winning animator Hayao Miyazaki with nature and ecological themes covered in his films. Through his iconic characters, such as Totoro and Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki’s often autobiographical films often express his
concerns about the world and reflect the upheavals in the XX century.