Bilietas. The Ticket
How Lithuanian Basketball Club Žalgiris rose from the ashes to become the pinnacle of European club basketball.
Basketball players on the court, businessmen in their spare time, and bearers of the spirit of freedom in Lithuania – that’s the Žalgiris team of 1979-1989. Historic battles against the Red Army, unforgettable for those who witnessed them, and something the new generation must learn about. Legendary basketball faces recall the tough training sessions, the support of their compatriots and the not always legal adventures behind the Iron Curtain.
This is a documentary thriller about resistance to the totalitarian system on the basketball court. A sports documentary based on the struggles of the Žalgiris basketball team in the 1980s: the golden age when the team managed to beat the unbeatable CSKA Moscow team several times in a row to become the champions of the Soviet Union. A ticket to a Žalgiris game became a kind of currency, a factor that fuelled the nation's spirit of resistance and later opened up the possibility of writing the history of independent Lithuania.
Vytautas Dambrauskas, Film Director and Head of Film/TV department in Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, has more than 20 years experience in commercial directing, music videos, TV series, Films and Documentaries. Last 8 years he is also an associate professor in LAMT. Where he shares his knowledge and expertise teaching directing, pitching ideas, working with actors and editing.
ESTONIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SPORTS FILM PROGRAMME