The Nordic & Baltic Oscar Contenders series at Scandinavia House returns this season with select in-house and virtual screenings of films chosen by the Nordic & Baltic countries to compete for the Oscar nomination for the Best International Feature Film. On DATE TK at Scandinavia House, see the film Issac (Izaokas, dir. Jurgis Matulevičius, Lithuania, 2019, Narrative), Lithuania’s official nomination for the 94th Academy Awards.
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.
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.