The festival’s program is always shaped by its core values. Each year, our foremost criterion – artistic excellence – guides both the refinement of the festival’s established structure and the selection of individual films. We aim to reflect the key directions of contemporary European cinema, revealing the subtleties of dialogue between generations and traditions, the interplay between classical form and experimentation, respect for film heritage, as well as keeping an eye toward the cinema of the future – in the search for and discovery of new voices. The program embraces classical drama, outstanding examples of genre cinema, inventive documentaries that reflect today’s geopolitical realities, but also simply well-told stories about life. For those drawn to award-winners, we present Berlin’s Golden and Silver Bears, selections from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, the main competition winners from Locarno and Karlovy Vary, and films featured in the competitions of Venice, Sundance, and San Sebastián – all while reminding our audience that what we value most are not the awards themselves, but genuinely great cinema: the kind we’re always searching for and eager to share.
This year, the festival revolves around its two main competition programs. Ten auteur-driven feature film premieres from across Europe – the first, second, or third works of emerging directors – compete in Scanorama’s main feature film competition, offering audiences a vibrant panorama of European cinema. Traditional narrative and original hybrid forms, bold innovation and the quiet tone of contemplative storytelling, documentary insight and fictional creativity – these are the diverse coordinates of our Main Competition. We are eager to see which of the contenders will be recognized as the best by our distinguished international jury.
The short film competition program Glimpses of Europe traces the path from short cinematic forms to the classic feature length. Over the years, we have nurtured it from a regional showcase into a platform with a truly European scope, expanding and deepening its focus along the way. Glimpses of Europe 2025 presents a mosaic of diverse yet timely stories that together compose a compelling portrait of the present. Cinema-goers will discover films from France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Ukraine, Greece, Lithuania, and other countries. Each film serves as a starting point for a conversation about the complex fragile yet hopeful nature of human existence in today’s world shaken by great challenges.
This year’s non-competitive short film program continues the reflection on the place of short forms on the path toward the big screen. It presents small films by great directors. This time, the spotlight is on the British. The lineup includes three “miniatures” by the acclaimed British filmmaker Joanna Hogg and Mark Jenkin’s celebrated short I Saw the Face of God in a Car Wash. Alongside them is a seven-film retrospective dedicated to the memory of Swedish director Gunvor Nelson, who passed away this year. Living in the United States, the Swedish artist and filmmaker made a significant contribution to the development of American avant-garde cinema.
The mosaic of short forms will also be enriched by our traditional showcase of the European Film Awards nominees. This short film cycle, accompanying the competition program Glimpses of Europe highlights the creative power and interconnectedness of diverse cinematic formats within European cinema.
The French New Wave, which once reshaped the course of European cinema, comes alive again in American director Richard Linklater’s European production of the same name. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Linklater’s vision of the making of the defining New Wave film not only echoes the style of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, but also captures the bold spirit of independent creativity and freedom, as well as Godard’s own ambition and charisma. Continuing in this spirit is The Lake, the feature debut of Fabrice Aragno – cinematographer of Godard’s later films – which premiered in the main competition at the Locarno Festival and flows directly into the waters of New Wave remembrance. The director will visit Scanorama to present his work to our audience.
The ambitions and significance of the New Wave will also be reflected in this year’s Scanorama through the film duo Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc and Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise. These works are directly connected to another charismatic figure of the movement, François Truffaut — one of the founding fathers of the New Wave — who in 1963 proposed to his colleague André Cayatte an experiment: to create a diptych that would allow viewers to see the same event from two different perspectives, much like the brilliant Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa had done in Rashomon, questioning the objectivity of a single truth in revealing a crime. The French director approaches marriage from similarly different perspectives. The parallel stories of Françoise and Jean-Marc reveal both unspoken expectations and the fractures within a shared life. Together, Cayatte’s two films explore the theme of complex human relationships – a hallmark of many New Wave works and one that remains relevant to this day.
This year, Scanorama presents its audience with a carefully renewed catalogue, Films and Contexts, designed to help navigate the abundance of titles – more than a hundred – and to trace the journey of an idea from its conception to its realization on screen. Jean-Luc Godard’s essay What is Cinema?, from his book Godard on Godard published later in the twentieth century, reveals the depth of the filmmaker’s reflections, while an accompanying analytical article by semiotician and film critic Dmitrij Gluščevskij offers deeper insight into Godard’s creative vision and artistic approach. We invite readers of the catalogue to explore interviews with the directors of our featured films – Hlynur Pálmason, Ildikó Enyedi, Kateryna Gornostai, Oleksiy Radynski, Radu Jude, Dag Johan Haugerud, and Federic Hambalek – as well as with actors Lars Eidinger and Julia Jentsch. Lively conversations held during world premieres in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Locarno, along with in-depth dialogues with acclaimed artists and commentaries by composers and historians, will help readers engage with the broader context of contemporary European cinema and understand the inner turbulences of film in the era of smart technologies and artificial intelligence.
The Romanian director Radu Jude shot his latest film, Dracula, on an iPhone. This three-hour giant convincingly illustrates the tendency to view not only this film but Jude’s entire body of work as a vast collage-like hybrid – one capable of containing everything that makes our world remarkable for its sorrow, intensity, and fear. The director boldly transcends conventional limits of duration and narrative restraint (if pornography is entrenched in life, why shouldn’t it be used in film – not indulging in it, but punching it in the face?). Artificial intelligence, a topic of endless discussion, will tickle viewers’ feet as the film wittily mocks the popular desire to know less about ourselves yet more about imagined or once-living vampires. This cinematic heavyweight will be presented to Lithuanian audiences in Scanorama’s program Nocturnal Creatures.
Yet alongside such radical approaches, there are other perspectives on the use of contemporary technologies. Beloved by our audiences, Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi, in her latest film Silent Friend – presented in this year’s Venice Competition – employs a range of filming techniques, including 35 mm, 16 mm, and digital, within a single sequence. The director uses these contrasting formats to convincingly reveal the fragile dialogue between humans and the world of plants, as well as the painful absence of human connection. The film interweaves different eras and destinies, speaking not only about relationships between people but also about the existential bond between humanity and nature – embodied by a majestic ginkgo tree, which becomes one of the film’s protagonists.
In the landscape of modern, often radical European cinema, it is refreshing to encounter the growing presence of simple and sincere films – such as Nino (dir. Pauline Logue), Deaf (dir. Eva Libertad), Dreams (dir. Dag Johan Haugerud), and The Good Sister (dir. Sarah Miro Fischer) – works that do not seek loud brilliance, but instead tell quietly powerful stories about human beings and their emotions.
The field of contemporary cinema is also shaped by a mix of genres and storytelling modes that resemble a laboratory of cinematic language – a space where fascinating hybrid forms are born (the Wild Cards program). One such hybrid, the Czech-Slovak documentary Better Go Mad in the Wild (dir. Miro Remo), triumphed over fiction competitors at this year’s Karlovy Vary Festival, winning the main competition award. What is real and simple can be just as compelling as beautifully imagined stories. For lovers of hybrids, we offer several striking explorations that blend reality and invention: Fiume or Death! (dir. Igor Bezinović), The Seasons (dir. Maureen Fazendeiro), Wind, Talk to Me (dir. Stefan Djordjević), and Twice João Liberada (dir. Paula Tomás Marques). We have shaped a vibrant and contemporary Scanorama program, striving to reflect as many facets as possible of modern cinema and the diverse paths of contemporary European auteur filmmaking. Alongside classically structured works such as Hlynur Pálmason’s The Love That Remains, Dag Johan Haugerud’s Dreams, Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower, Petra Volpe’s Night Shift, and Ido Fluk’s Köln 75, we will also present films of an innovative and anarchic spirit.
In Tom Tykwer’s The Light, the problems of a dysfunctional German family unfold against a masterfully crafted backdrop of a biblical flood in Berlin – with an unexpected solution offered by a refugee from Syria. The film’s interplay of light and shadow, Frédéric Hambalek’s ironic take on the shifting dynamics between a daughter and her parents, and the youthful rebellion against paternal tyranny explored in What Mariele Knows and Köln 75 complement one another in surprising ways, revealing the ever-evolving search for new cinematic language. In collaboration with our long-standing partner, the Goethe-Institut, we once again present a bouquet of the most intriguing German films in our now traditional Goethe Salon program.
It is no surprise that director Artur Franck’s inventive documentary The Helsinki Effect, with its ironic take on a historical event, resonates strongly within today’s geopolitical context. Interestingly, political undercurrents can also be felt in works far removed from the documentary genre — even in horror films such as Solvent (dir. Johannes Grenzfurthner). They also surface in films that do not directly address political realities, like Guillermo Galo’s Sleepless City and Harpo and Lenny Guit’s Heads or Fails.
Contemporary European cinema often reflects on its own past, returning to its defining milestones. One such peak is Italian filmmaker Liliana Cavani, whose retrospective of major works is presented at this year’s Scanorama in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute.
The intersections of science, religion, and philosophy – along with themes of Ancient Greece and modern history, Nazism and fascism, and the mysteries of human nature – defined the creative space in which Liliana Cavani sought the truth. The retrospective focuses on eight of the most striking films by this remarkable director from the 1970s and 1980s, concluding with her most recent work, The Order of Time (2023). Cavani’s films reflect an idea expressed by the distinguished Lithuanian poet and thinker Marcelijus Martinaitis – who once wrote about the constant anxiety about identity faced by an artist – an identity “that is continuously created and is not a fixed quality of a person or a nation.” The Italian director was a tireless shaper of her nation’s identity, often facing strong opposition to her interpretation of it.
Two films featured in the retrospective mark the high points of Cavani’s career: the legendary The Night Porter (1974), which was banned in several countries, and the fiercely debated adaptation of Curzio Malaparte’s memoir The Skin (1981). Cavani’s life and work bear witness to her own chosen order of time – the privilege of a free individual to live and create on her own terms.
It is important for us to acknowledge both anniversaries and losses – not only those of Lithuanian filmmakers, but also of artists from around the world – recognizing our own cinema as part of a larger global film landscape. This year’s In Memoriam section pays tribute to the late giant of world cinema, David Lynch, with a screening of his final European film Inland Empire. We also bid farewell to the sensitive Swedish filmmaker Gunvor Nelson, whose program of short films honors her lasting influence on the American avant-garde during her years in the United States.
The creative and production exchange within European cinema has inspired the formation of a new program this year – Beyond Borders. Each year, it will feature four to five selected films from different parts of the world. The program aims to expand the boundaries of European cinema, with representatives from various continents creating an engaging comparative context for the festival’s chosen concept of European film.
The Beyond Borders program is a natural continuation of the principles upheld by the European film festival network Moving Images – Open Borders. Having brought together and, for the past two years, coordinated a network of seven European festivals, we have boldly rephrased the second part of the network’s title to emphasize not only our informal partnership but also the creative and production expansion of European cinema worldwide. By opening windows to geographically distant worlds of film, Europe itself grows richer. Beyond Borders also serves as a reminder of cinema’s collective nature – one that does not divide, but unites cultures, countries, and people.
This year’s edition of Beyond Borders features The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo by Chilean director Diego Céspedes, winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize; Devil Smokes by Mexican filmmaker Ernesto Martínez Bucio, awarded in Berlin’s new Perspectives section; and Two Seasons, Two Strangers, the latest film by Japanese director Sho Miyake – well known to our audiences – which won the main competition prize at Locarno. Also included is the exquisite Belgian–French–Vietnamese co-production Hair, Paper, Water... by Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy. Each of the Beyond Borders films approaches questions of identity from a different angle and within distinct historical contexts.
We invite audiences to reflect on the direction of Lithuanian cinema in the Lithuanian Film Premieres section. This year, we present new works from a younger generation of filmmakers, including Nerijus Milerius’ documentary portrait of Juozas Budraitis, Vytautas Oškinis’ feature-length documentary debut Grandfather, and War on Art, a documentary by Polish director Andrzej Miękus. Alongside the powerful Special Operation by Oleksiy Radynski – featured in the Main Competition – and Kateryna Gornostai’s sensitive portrayal of the fate of Ukrainian schools and students during wartime (part of the Crossing Europe program), Miękus’ film, a co-production between Estonia, Poland, and Lithuania, broadens the conversation on Ukraine by exploring a vital theme: the struggle to preserve cultural and artistic heritage amid war. Representing Lithuania in the Main Competition is debut filmmaker Andrius Žemaitis with Tabasco – a visually striking work that marks an impressive new voice in contemporary Lithuanian cinema.
We will also present Laguna, the moving new film by acclaimed Lithuanian director Šarūnas Bartas, recently well received at the Venice Film Festival. This documentary essay is dedicated to the memory of the director’s elder daughter, Ina Marija Bartaitė. In the film, Bartas and his youngest daughter, Una Marija, travel to Ventanilla Lagoon on Mexico’s Pacific coast – the place where Ina Marija spent her last holiday with her father. Living among the local community and attuned to the rhythm of the surrounding nature, father and daughter come to reflect anew on loss and the fragility of life.
The special premiere of the feature film Sand in Your Hair at the National Drama Theatre will be dedicated to Juozas Budraitis — celebrating his 50 years in cinema and his 85th birthday. Directed by Mantas Verbiejus, the film features the honoree himself alongside his longtime collaborators in film and theatre, Jūratė Onaitytė and Liubomiras Laucevičius.
This year, a special series of events dedicated to honoring Juozas Budraitis’s remarkable talent will take place not only in Vilnius but also in other Lithuanian cities. The program will feature classic Lithuanian films in which Budraitis has played both leading and supporting roles over the years — including Feelings, Sadūto Tūto, and A Small Confession. This retrospective series forms part of Scanorama’s program Lithuanian Cinema: An Open History, which invites reflection on the milestones of our cinematic heritage, drawing attention to significant anniversaries, overlooked works, and key moments in national film history. One such long-neglected film is All Against One (1986) – shot on 35mm and preserved in our archives but rarely screened – featuring Budraitis in a memorable role as an unconventional lawyer. The film will be brought back to cultural memory with premiere screenings at the Skalvija Cinema Center in Vilnius and Romuva in Kaunas – the only venues that have preserved 35mm projection equipment. Together with the M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum and the creators of the virtual reality experiences Trail of Angels and Creation of the Worlds, we will also mark the 150th anniversary of the genius composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. The commemoration will include a discussion with researchers and performers exploring the enduring vitality of Čiurlionis’s creative legacy today.
From the vaults of cinematic heritage, we have brought out a true gem of Georgian cinema – The 19th Century Georgian Chronicle (1979) by Aleksandre Rekhviashvili, long considered one of the country’s masterpieces. Made more than two decades ago, the film feels especially relevant today, in these challenging times for Georgia, as it reflects on the essential need to preserve national identity. Thanks to the Georgian National Film Center, audiences in Lithuania’s major cities will have the opportunity to see a newly digitized version of this remarkable work.
In 2025, SCA Directions will introduce a newly structured platform featuring events that address the latest challenges and innovations in the contemporary film industry. It will serve as a space for dialogue and networking among Lithuanian and international filmmakers, producers, sales agents, festival curators, and funding experts. The SCA Directions program will lay the groundwork for future opportunities, offering Lithuanian film professionals both practical and theoretical insights into director–producer collaboration strategies, project development possibilities, and the nuances of the creative process.
Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason’s The Love That Remains and Polish filmmaker Maciej Drygas’s Trains frame the entirety of Scanorama – from its opening to its closing. Tender yet dramatic, surreal yet realistic, the opening film poses a fundamental question: what does love leave behind in each of us once it has been lived?
The breathtaking Icelandic landscape becomes an essential part of the story, embracing a simple tale of a family that has fallen apart yet manages to preserve its deepest values – compassion, tolerance, tenderness, responsibility, and the ability to be together not just outwardly, but in the truest sense. Perhaps this is the greatest gift that love can offer to a human being.
As the director has said, “When you show the landscape, you reveal the human soul... the landscape shapes not only the person, but also the tone of the film.” This is deeply felt in Pálmason’s work. That is why the opening film The Love That Remains feels so natural and unforced – as wild as Iceland’s winds and as serene as the eternal glow of its indifferent beauty. Everything here is bound by an invisible, yet tangible connection between the human being and the sky under which they are born, live, and die. It is all very simple.
Polish documentary master Maciej Drygas’s silent film Trains – after an impressive run at international festivals and nominations for both the European Film Awards and the Oscars – will bring this year’s Scanorama to a close. The moving, all-seeing train becomes a living presence in the film, revealing the unbroken bond between history and humanity, and taking on a quiet sense of human spirit itself. Through a precisely crafted kaleidoscope of faces and events, Drygas creates a portrait of a world that is constantly searching for its direction. The film opens with a poignant quotation of Franz Kafka on great hopes that are not destined for us – a reflection that resonates throughout this unfolding stream of people and events. The railway tracks twist and branch into countless directions, as if asking: are we moving the right way? From an extraordinary collection of archival footage gathered across the world, the director shapes a powerful and haunting portrait of the 20th century – an era of progress and tragedy. Which way is humanity’s train heading today? We look for answers in the films, trying to recognize ourselves in the lives of others. Let’s keep searching – together.
Yours sincerely,
Gražina Arlickaitė