The Fourth Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns in 2021 as a hybrid festival with both in-person and virtual screenings on November 3-14! From November 3 through 7, in-person screenings and events will take place at Scandinavia House in New York, presented in accordance with new COVID-19 safety guidance and protocols. Following the success of last year’s festival, the online version will once again be available to viewers all across the U.S. via the Elevent streaming platform November 3-14.
On November 6, see Issac (Izaokas, dir. Jurgis Matulevičius, Lithuania, 2019, Narrative). In 1941, Andrius kills his Jewish neighbor, Isaac, during the Lietukis garage massacre. Twenty-five years later, film director Gediminas returns to Soviet Lithuania from the U.S. with a screenplay that portrays the same massacre in detail and gradually attracts the interest of the KGB. Why would someone return from the U.S.? Why is the screenplay so accurate? Isaac shows how the aftermath of the murder ripples through the decades, affecting lives and love long after the war has ended. Director Jurgis Matulevičius captures the fine balance between memory and history, and between guilt and compliance, against the background of 1960s Lithuania.
“A visually dazzling, Kafkaesque murder mystery” –Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter
Tickets to this event must be purchased in advance online at the link above; film screenings will take place in Victor Borge Hall. All attendees are required to present proof of vaccination upon arrival in compliance with New York State government; read more here. Attendees are required to follow all Scandinavia House safety protocols, including wearing masks during the program and observing social distancing rules in signage. Please read our full safety protocols here.
Virtual screenings of this film will take place from November 7-14. To read more and purchase virtual passes, please click here.
About the Director
Jurgis Matulevičius graduated from the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy with a degree in film directing. He has worked with well-known Lithuanian film directors Šarūnas Bartas, Algimantas Puipa and others.
Matulevičius has made a number of highly acclaimed short films that have screened at international festivals such as Los Angeles’ Cinefest, Kiwi International, Krakow Film Festival, Oberhausen Film Festival, Odessa Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival Film Market and others.
About NYBFF
Established in 2018, the New York Baltic Film Festival is presented and organized by Scandinavia House in collaboration with the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania, and Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York.
Financial support for the festival comes from the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center, with additional sponsorship by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, American Latvian Association, LV-100, Printful, PBLA Culture Fund and the Lithuanian Foundation and the Embassy of Latvia in Washington DC.
Organizers & Sponsors
