Kristijonas Vildziunas

Before becoming a film director, Kristijonas Vildziunas (1970) was one of the leaders of the popular rock group 'Northern Direction'. He completed his studies in the Faculty of Film and Theatre at the Lithuanian Academy of Music in 1996. While he was still studying, he debuted with a short film based on Antanas Ramonas novella The Days that are Left 1995. The world premiere of his first full-length film Nuomos The Lease, 2002 took place in the Upstream official selection of the Venice International Film Festival. The world premiere of his second full-length film You am I, 2006 took place in the Un Certain Regard official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. Both films were recognized as Best Baltic Feature Film at the Riga International Film Forum Arsenals. His latest film Back to your Arms, 2010 won eight awards at the National Silver Crane 2011 Cinema and Television Film Awards. The story was inspired by a letter from the Lithuanian-American Dalia Jukneviciute to her husband, the poet Algimantas Mackus. The expressiveness and lyricism of his films are conveyed by the subtly created atmosphere, the complex characters, and the detective-like intrigue. The main characters are often forced to solve difficult moral dilemmas, and to look for answers to difficult questions that arise amid st the clashes of the period and the historical reality.