6th New York Baltic Film Festival
Filmmaker talks and Q&As have now been announced for the 6th Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America! The festival returns this year with in-person and virtual screenings of the best new and critically-acclaimed Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian films in NYC from November 8-12 and virtually November 10-19, with 13 screenings — including eight narrative features, three documentaries, and one TV series — including two International Premieres, six North American Premieres, and one New York Premiere.
We are proud to bring many of the filmmakers to New York to participate in Q&As after premieres. The festival will kick off with an Opening Night Celebration on Wednesday, November 8 at 6:30 PM featuring the North American Premiere of Remember to Blink (Per Arti, Lithuania, 2023). Director Austėja Urbaitė will present a film talk on her captivating drama about a French couple who adopt two Lithuanian children and enlist a young student to serve as interpreter and nanny, an arrangement that soon gives way to underlying tensions and cultural clashes. Urbaitė will also be present for a Q&A at a second screening of Remember to Blink on Saturday, November 11 at 1 PM.
On Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 PM, the festival will also feature a special evening in support of Ukraine with a screening of the short documentary What Would You Take? (Mille Sina võtaksid, dir. Heilika Pikkov, Estonia, 2023), which tells the stories of 12 people from the Ukraine who had to leave home with only their bare essentials. Director Heilika Pikkov will be present for a panel moderated by Andrew Horodysky (Ukrainian Institute of America) as well as painter Lesia Khomenko and art historian and curator Katherine Carl; the evening will conclude with a concert by Estonian musician Maria Faust.
FULL SCHEDULE @ Scandinavia House
WED—NOVEMBER 8—6:30 PM: Opening Night Screening & Reception
Remember to Blink (dir. Austėja Urbaitė, Lithuania, 2023)
THU—NOVEMBER 9—6:30 PM: Evening in Support of Ukraine
Screening of What Would You Take (dir. Heilika Pikkov, Estonia, 2023); panel discussion with Lesia Khomenko, Heilika Pikkov, and Katherine Carl, moderated by Andrew Horodysky (Ukrainian Institute of America) & Concert by Maria Faust
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10
6 PM—Machina Faust (dir. Kaupo Kruusiauk, Estonia, 2022)* North American Premiere & Film Talk with Maria Faust
8 PM—Collective (Latvia, 2023)* International Premiere & Film Talk w/ prod. Māris Lagzdiņš & Zane Ozoliņa and dirs. Papa Chi & Mārtiņš Grauds
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11
1 PM—Remember to Blink (Lithuania, 2023) & Film Talk with dir. Austėja Urbaitė
3:15 PM—Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner’s Daughter (dir. Elmo Nüganen, Estonia/Germany/Latvia/Lithuania, 2023)* & Film Talk with actress Maarja Johanna Mägi
5:30 PM—Soviet Milk (dir. Ināra Kolmane, Latvia/Belgium, 2023)* International Premiere & Film Talk with composer Raimonds Tigals
8:15 PM—Slow (Lithuania/Spain/Sweden, 2023) New York Premiere & Film Talk with dir. Marija Kavtaradzė
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12
2 PM—Crime Solving for Beginners (Latvia/Lithuania, 2022)* International Premiere & Talk w/ dir. Armands Zvirbulis
4 PM—The Poet (dir. Giedrius Tamoševičius and Vytautas V. Landsbergis, Lithuania, 2022)* North American Premiere & Film Talk with director Giedrius Tamoševičius
7 PM—Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia, 2023) & Film Talk with dir. Anna Hint
* Screens virtually following premiere through November 19.
In-person screenings and events will take place at Scandinavia House in New York (58 Park Ave, 10016); the online version will once again be available to viewers all across the U.S. on Scandinavia House’s screening platform Elevent from November 10-19 (full schedule here). For program announcements, please subscribe to the festival newsletter at balticfilmfestival.com and Scandinavia House newsletter at scandinaviahouse.org. For more immediate updates, follow NYBFF on Instagram and Facebook.
ADDITIONAL PASS & TICKET INFORMATION
In-Person Pass $125 ($95 ASF Members) | 5-Film Package $60 ($40 ASF Members)
Opening Night Ticket $50 ($40 ASF Members) | VIP Pass $400
Individual tickets (in-person/virtual): $15 ($10 ASF Members)
ABOUT THE NEW YORK BALTIC FILM FESTIVAL
Established in 2018, the New York Baltic Film Festival is presented and organized by Scandinavia House in collaboration with the Consulate General of Estonia, Consulate General of Lithuania, the Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York and the Consulate of Latvia in Vermont. Financial support for the festival comes from the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center, with additional sponsorship by the American-Scandinavian Foundation, American Latvian Association, Edhard Corporation, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian American National Council (EKRÜ), Latvian Foundation (Latviešu fonds), Latvian Investment and Development Agency, Lithuanian Foundation (Lietuvių fondas), Narbutas Furniture, PBLA Culture Fund, and Sondra Litvaityte.
Scandinavia House
