Following the screening, director Aistė Žegulytė will present a Q&A, moderated by Lukas Brasiskis.

Animus Animalis is a film about the masters of stuffing animals, who try to restore life where it no longer exists. A taxidermist, deer farmer, and zoology museum workers live in a setting where the line between reality and artificiality have become almost imperceptible. Where dead beasts seem to compete for the most vivid posture or realistic expression, humans are in fact trying to stop time, and bring back life where it has long been absent. Directed by Aistė Žegulytė (Lithuania, 2018)

Aistė Žegulytė was born in 1986 in Panevėžys, Lithuania where she graduated from high school and the School of Fine Arts. Between 2006 and 2009 she studied Photographic Technology at Vilnius University of Applied Engineering Sciences. In 2013 she graduated in Television and Cinema Directing from the Lithuanian Music and Theater Academy. Her graduation project was the documentary film Identities. So far she has made several fictional and documentary short films.

Festivals and Awards:
DOK Leipzig (World Premiere),
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Vilnius Film Festival Kino pavasaris (Cineuropa prize),
CPH:DOX

ASF is pleased to co-present the second New York Baltic Film Festival at Scandinavia House with motion pictures from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This year’s programming encompasses the theme of togetherness: on a personal level as well as in relationships and family history, and through the cooperation of various Baltic co-productions. It also shines through in films attempting to incorporate difficult or previously untold stories into contemporary national consciousness.

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way — when over 2 million people stood together in human chain linking the 3 capitals of Talllinn, Riga and Vilnius to peacefully call for their independence from the Soviet Union — this year’s festival aims to highlight the diversity of stories that make up the Baltic States. As a chain is made up of links, so a nation is made up of stories.

The 2019 New York Baltic Film Festival is presented by Scandinavia House and organized by the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania and Consulate of Latvia in New York. Programming is supported by the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center. Funding for the festival is courtesy of the governments of the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and by the generous donations of members of the Baltic community in New York. Additional support to the festival is provided by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and the American Scandinavian Foundation.