The incredibly hot beginning of the summer suddenly reminded us of the film “June: The Beginning of Summer” by Raimundas Vabalas, which was made in 1969. It is in this sunny month that the autumn vision of Scanorama is put together, its foundations are laid, and the highlights singled out. Thus, June is not just the beginning of summer, but of Scanorama as well.

Films, like people, have their own destiny, their own successes or failures. They may endure, they may be forgotten, they may become classics. In the long line-up of different countries and directors which is shown on the screens of all festivals, the simple, and thus eternal, question recurs: how to be happy in this small piece of being which is called human life? When he is alone, man looks for other humans, when he is with others, he misses his lost or relinquished freedom. This is an eternal story that has inspired many works. A separate film is just the story of one attempt to be happy, just one of the faces of (un)happiness. Melancholy, irony, tragedy, and a philosophical outlook give these faces their unique colour. It is impossible to repeat them. Only the wish for happiness repeats itself.

But wishes do not necessarily come true. Happiness does not necessarily assume the face of luck. “Hollywood stories do not come to our minds“ (Dardenne brothers). Life sends various challenges to contemporary man. To face misfortunes with dignity (or not), the death of a close one, or even your own end, to endure the tension of being, to extinguish (or not) the volcano of humanity in yourself. The pursuit of happiness requires energy: sometimes it frightens us with the losses incurred, with our moments of weakness. Stories of the preservation or loss of values here and now show in various spaces and in various forms. The human and the changing world: this is the main theme of the new Scanorama. It flows naturally from films that are newly made but already claim the status of classics, by associative links with the true classics, which helps us to reveal the layers of the human spirit and the reality of life.

The films are arranged in special programmes. The festival will glitter with the names of young directors and great masters. It will help you to find unknown and to see long-awaited films, to meet famous guests, and to keep up with the New Baltic Cinema competition.

The main novelty of Scanorama 2011 is that this is the first time a co-production forum of Baltic Sea region countries and Japan is being held in Lithuania. Young and promising film talents from Europe and Japan (there will be 20 of them), great moderators, lectors and world cinema celebrities, will be here at Scanorama. During the forum, there will be lectures, discussions and film screenings, and you will be able to hear the project presentations of young talents as well. And maybe, in the future, we will co-produce a project with Japan that started in this forum.

Do you have a calendar handy? You can note the main dates:

Scanorama in Vilnius: November 10-20
Scanorama in Kaunas: November 17-27
Scanorama in Klaipėda: November 24-27

Co-production Forum Baltic Sea Region–Japan, in Vilnius: November 11-13
We are all looking forward to a beautiful and eventful autumn.

Yours,
Gražina Arlickaitė