Lithuanian director, Alante Kavaitė, has won the Sundance World Cinema Drama prize for directing “The Summer of Sangaile.” This is the first Sundance prize for a Lithuanian film.
Alantan Kavaitės’s film tells the story of two teenage girls who together overcome the challenges of adolescence. The strikingly visual film also captures breathtaking aerobatic aircraft maneuvers.
“The Summer of Sangaile” was one of 12 feature films selected to compete in the Sundance world cinema dramatic competition from over 2000 submissions.
“This is an important milestone for Lithuanian cinema. Each year, this festival is attended by the US and world cinema elite. Having the film premiere at Sundance was a strong start for the film, which surpassed all our expectations,” said the film’s producers Živilė Gallego.
Sundance, is the largest independent film festival in the US, based in Park City, Utah and attracts celebrities from around the world.
“It’s incredible. I put my entire heart into this film. For me it was important to shoot “Sangaile” in Lithuania, because I spent my teenage years there,” said award winning director Alantė Kavaitė.
This was the 27th annual Sundance Festival, which was founded in 1978 by actor Robert Redford. A Lithuanian documentary, “The Other Dream Team” by Marius Markevičius, is the only other film from that country to be screened at the festival.
“The Summer of Sangaile” was co-produced with French production company Les Films d’Antoine and Dutch production firm Viking Films.
Exclusive Trailer for “The Summer of Sangaile”
