Director E. Razumaitė, who will present the premiere of the film in Cannes: “I believed that sooner or later it would work” | Culture

This is only the second time in the history of Lithuanian cinema, when a Lithuanian short film enters the official competition program of the Cannes Film Festival. Two years ago, director Vytautas Katkaus’ film “Uogos” was shown here.

Films previously directed by E. Razumaitė have already been screened at international film festivals. Her short work “Notes from the Underground” in 2020. was screened at the Vilnius International Film Festival “Cinema Spring”.

Short film “The Fall” – after 2023 presentation at the Clermont-Ferrand short film fair was shown in “Cinema Spring”, as well as at the Riga International Short Film Festival. In the same year, he was nominated for the “Silver Crane’s Egg” award for the best student work.

About her latest work “Ootidė”, which opened the door to the prestigious Cannes festival, author’s plot, why she chooses tape instead of digital for filmmaking and the woman’s body as an object of abuse – this is the conversation with the director E. Razumaita.

– Egle, what was your reaction when you found out that the film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival?

– At first I could hardly believe it – I thought it might be some kind of mistake… After all, the competition for the festival was very big. I made this film from an idea, without any funding – we got together with friends and just made it. Like, by the way, all previous films.

I made this film from an idea, without any funding – we got together with friends and just made it.

But now I realize that this is an extraordinary event, which, I have no doubt, will influence the further path of my creativity. I am extremely happy about this and I am grateful to everyone who contributed at least a little to the creation of this film.

I accept all this as a gift and recognition from the global film community. After all, we are talking about the French film industry and the Cannes Film Festival that symbolizes it. Today I feel honored and very happy about it.

Pauliaus Peleckis/BNS photo/Eglė Razumaitė

“Have you ever dreamed about it?”

– Yes. Filmmaking is my greatest passion in life. I don’t even think I’m good at anything other than making movies. Although I graduated from philosophy studies, I am basically a visual artist.

During the creation of the last few films, I realized that it is very important that my work goes out into wider waters and is shown at one of the A-class film festivals – Cannes, Venice or Berlinale. And I believed that sooner or later it would work.

– So this was not the first attempt to enter one of these prestigious festivals?

– I tried to get to Venice and the Berlinale with the film “The Fall” made in 2023, but I did it on my own and I didn’t succeed.

It was only after a while that it became very important to have sales agents or distributors for your films – even if it was short work.

This time I was not alone, so my film was taken care of – a more serious and thought-out strategy really paid off.

– Are you planning to go to Cannes yourself?

– Yes. After the film entered the competition program, I received an invitation to come to the festival. Now the biggest headache remains: where to get the money, because the prices there are inhumane.

And going there seems very important to me, because it is also an opportunity to present yourself and your work.

It is also possible to find co-production partners, because financially, making films in Lithuania is very difficult. It is essentially a matter of survival. So I want to take this chance.

Paulius Peleckis/BNS photo/Eglė Razumaitė

– Out of 4.5 thousand films, only eleven were selected for the competition program – what do you think, what determined that your work was among them?

– We discussed it with various people. Maybe it could have been determined by the author’s design – the construction of dramaturgy and the visual development of the theme. Hard to say. I never compromised – I always created as I felt was necessary for the job.

We made all our films, including this one, together with cameraman Nojus Drăsučis. Working with him, I feel that together we succeed in conveying my thoughts and ideas in a visual language. So this film is also his merit.

– This is not your first short film – you have previously made the films “Water Castle” (2017), “Notes from the Underground” (2020), “The Fall” (2023). What inspired the new work “Ootide”?

– As in the case of the film “The Fall”, I thought a lot about violence while creating “Ootidė”. Gradually, a feminist discourse also appeared here.

Some years ago, when the war in Ukraine was already underway, I accidentally heard the following saying: “Women’s bodies are like battlefields.” Then I began to think more about what happens to the female body, how it is exploited by various ideologies and how it becomes an object of violence.

I began to think more about what happens to the female body, how it is exploited by various ideologies and how it becomes an object of abuse.

Finally, I settled on the biochemical processes taking place in the female body. I began to think about the fact that every woman is strongly affected by these processes, which she cannot control or influence in any way. Isn’t that a form of violence?

All this is difficult to describe in words, so I try to tell it in pictures.

– What is the plot of this movie?

– The film shows the girls’ camp and their relationships. The main leitmotif that creates intrigue and mystery is that recently one of them suddenly left the camp for unknown reasons. The rest of the girls start raising different versions of what could have happened to her. Disease? A spell? Evil spirits? Nothing is clear. In this way, it seems, a mysterious story is being created in the same place.

Paulius Peleckis/BNS photo/Eglė Razumaitė

– And the everyday story turns into an almost mystical thriller?

– Absolutely right. I was interested in playing with the mundane, which in the minds of maturing girls suddenly turns into the strangest mystery, with supernatural powers at work here.

I was interested in playing with the mundane, which in the minds of maturing girls suddenly turns into the strangest mystery, with supernatural powers at work here.

And where else is the mysterious forest path, the lake covered with reeds and the girls going for a swim… There is a lot of mythology, motifs of transformation that are repeated in various cultures and traditions.

– The film is dominated by long, slow, static shots. One gets the impression that these are more moving pictures. Why did you choose this style and how does it reveal the film’s narrative itself?

– And in my previous films, I don’t avoid static, long shots, because it creates a moment of retreat. I am interested in thinking about how the image and the narrative of cinema are constructed.

Usually, films aim to make the viewer identify with the heroes of the film, which is why close-ups are often shown. But I try to keep a distance – let the viewer not empathize with what is happening on the screen, but perceive himself as an observer.

When creating cinema, I consciously aim not for the viewer to identify with the heroes, but for his efforts to think freely, interpret the story, create his own versions.

This style and drawing is apparently determined by the fact that I came to cinema from the sphere of contemporary art. Here the relationship with the viewer is somewhat different than in the cinema. That’s why, when creating cinema, I consciously aim not for the viewer to identify with the heroes, but for his efforts to think freely, interpret the story, create his own versions.

– This film was not made with a digital camera, but with 16 mm film, which you used in your previous works. What determines your choice?

– I always work only with tape – so far I have not made a single film digitally. I am sure that the film creates a more persuasive effect, because with our eyes we see a less perfect, less sterile image, a less idealized reality than the digital camera makes. Tape grain, out of focus and other “imperfections” are closer to reality.

Tape grain, out of focus and other “imperfections” are closer to reality.

On the other hand, it is with tape that I can create the atmosphere of the film that I need in more minimal conditions. Let’s say using tape allows me to invest less in lighting because it captures and captures light differently. So, in a sense, it is even a somewhat practical choice.

Paulius Peleckis/BNS photo/Eglė Razumaitė

After all, during all those years of creating with tape, I also developed a specific way of working. For example, I don’t understand how to choose the best dubbing from what was filmed when shooting digitally? This seems to me to be a huge aggravation.

I prefer to think in advance what I need for a specific shot, what I want, I put it together in my head, and then it remains to shoot accurately. It allows me to focus more and not be distracted.

– And when will Lithuanian viewers see this film?

– It is likely that now that the film will be screened at the Cannes festival, it will begin a world tour of various festivals. In Lithuania, apparently, it will be possible to see it only next year – maybe “Kino pavasaris” or “Scanorama” will host it. We’ll see.