How to Divorce During the War
This year’s Lithuanian Oscar submission holds up a wry mirror to how we live, love, fear, separate and react.
A hallmark of Blaževičius’s films is the recurring pair Marija and Vytas. The stories are not sequels, but each introducing a new Marija and Vytas facing their own troubles. Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė returns as Marija for the second time, while Marius Repšys has played Vytas in all but one short. In Blaževičius’s previous feature “Runner”, Marija searched for a missing Vytas. This time, she's the one trying to get away.
Vytas is a film director who has yet to repeat the success of his blockbuster “The Boys”. Struggling with a new script, he also runs the household and drives their daughter Dovilė around. Marija is a creative executive at an online content company. Her simplistic social media ads attract thousands of likes, yet she feels trapped in their comfortable flat, her dreams of a magical life with Vytas long gone.
One morning, while taking Dovilė to school, Marija tells Vytas that she is leaving him. Nothing will change her mind. The next day, war breaks out in Ukraine, forcing their personal crisis to unfold alongside a much larger one.
Edvinas Pukšta
Biography
Andrius Blaževičius (1985) is a Lithuanian filmmaker. He studied Culture History and Anthropology at Vilnius University, later switching to Film Directing studies at KIMO, Lithuanian National Film School, where he graduated with an MA in 2011. His debut feature film “The Saint” (2016) premiered at Warsaw IFF and Busan IFF, won six national awards and became one of the most appreciated Lithuanian independent films at the national box office. His film “Runner” (2021) premiered at Karlovy Vary IFF with the main actress being awarded as a Shooting Star by European Film Promotion. “Runner” received two Lithuanian Film Academy awards – for the main and the supporting actresses.
Filmography
Sventasis (The Saint, 2016), Begike (Jooksus, PÖFF 2021), Skyrybos karo metu (How to Divorce During the War, 2026)
Award for Best Baltic Film, grant of 5000€ from Piletilevi
Screenings
