The New York Baltic Film Festival continues with the North American Premieres of Anthology of the Plot /Suokalbio antologija (Lithuania) and Pank (Estonia). Following the screenings, Paul Aguraiuja (producer, Pank) and Artūras Jevdokimovas (director, Anthology of the Plot) will present a Q&A.

Anthology of the Plot /Suokalbio antologija
10 minutes. In Lithuanian with English subtitles.

When it opened in Vilnius in 1992, the Lithuanian bar Suokalbis (“The Plot” in English) served as a refuge and a source of inspiration for young artists, filmmakers, journalists, and writers, as well as doctors, customs officers, judges, and anyone between. An evening here could result in a stroke of inspiration for your next work; you might end up rubbing shoulders with living icons, or get commissioned to write an article, a translation or a review, and maybe even give or conduct an interview — if you found time between all the drinking and dancing on tables, that is. In this magical place, you also didn’t actually need money to get drunk: all you had to do was wait for someone to leave a drink unprotected. At Suokalbis, drinks didn’t belong to the people who bought them; everything was simply placed into circulation.

The closing of Suokalbis in 2010 was a serious blow to Vilnius, and a loss of an irreplaceable public space. In this short documentary, director Artūras Jevdokimovas looks back at one of the most amazing bars in the world, one that experimented with the notion of absolute freedom. (Lithuania, 2015)

Pank
108 minutes. In Estonian with English subtitles.

Making its North American premiere, Pank tells the story of the rise of one of the most successful banks in the Baltic States, based on real characters and events in Estonia just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. During a key transition point in history — as everything old has been removed, with nothing new yet in place — Toomas is working at a local gas station to pay his way through school. When a random conversation with a customer lands him a job at a new, rapidly growing bank, he finds himself suddenly catapulted into a nerve hub of major deals and complex transactions. Working alongside the tough and focused Ülle, the bank’s CFO and one of its original founders — and one of very few women in the industry — Nordbank becomes a second home for both as it rapidly prospers.

Working hard and partying harder as their careers deliver one success after the other, Toomas and Ülle become blind to the destruction that Nordbank is leaving in its wake. But they’ll soon learn that success comes at a price: When you’re winning, you can’t always see what you’re losing. Created by Eero Epner and Tarmo Jüristo (Estonia, 2018)

Born in 1966 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Artūras Jevdokimovas studied TV Directing at Vilnius Conservatory. He graduated in Film Directing from Tbilisi Theatre and Film Institute (Republic of Georgia), and interned at Anthology Film Archives in New York. Jevdokimovas is currently working as a curator, film director/producer, and as an events/festival organizer.

Festivals and Awards:
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Vilnius International Documentary Film Festival,
WINNER Best Short Documentary Film at Lithuanian Film Academy Silver Crane Awards

Eero Epner (b. 1978) graduated from Tartu University as an art historian and worked as a dramaturg in Theatre NO99 from 2004 to 2018. He has collaborated as dramaturg and playwright with various directors on over 70 theater productions, and has also curated contemporary art exhibitions, written articles and monographs on various artists, written theater criticism and edited an art magazine, among other things. Pank is his first work as a scriptwriter.

Tarmo Jüristo (b. 1971) has been working as a playwright and dramaturg since 2011. Previously, Jüristo worked for almost 20 years in different senior management positions in finance and banking, and is now the Head of the Management Board at the think tank Praxis. He has been involved in various theater productions with the Von Krahl Theatre and Theatre NO99 in Estonia. Pank is his first work as a scriptwriter.

Festivals and Awards:
Serial Killer TV Series Festival
Geneva International Film Festival

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.