Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania - Rebels with a Cause Competition Winner 2023
The success of his debut feature “Motherland” (Winner of the Baltic Film Competition) inspired Tomas Vengris to pursue more complex storytelling bound by one place – an apartment in Vilnius.
The empty flat is rented to various guests from Israel, Hungary, Poland, and Ireland. With every online reservation, a new story of love, hate, hope, and guilt evolves between the walls of the old building. The humble host Jolanta prepares the place for new temporary guests. She never meets them, isn't aware of what is happening in the apartment and just leaves the key as instructed. The director expands short stories with slight hints, returning visits, and missing or stolen things. He interacts with loud neighbours and observes Jolanta’s developing relationship with a kind-hearted helper.
Edvinas Pukšta
Tomas Vengris (1984) is a Lithuanian/American filmmaker. He received his BA from Columbia University and completed his M.F.A. in directing at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. His directorial debut "Motherland", a Lithuanian, Latvian, German and Greek co-production, won the European Audience Award in the ArteKino Film Festival, Best Film in the Baltic Competition at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival and was selected in the Narrative Category for the 2020 European Film Awards. Tomas has worked as an editor under several internationally acclaimed writer/directors, including Terrence Malick, Kelly Reichardt, and Lena Dunham.
Filmography:
Gimtine (Kodumaa, PÖFF 2019), Penkios su puse meilės istorijos, nutikusios viename Vilniaus bute (Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2023)