Andrius Blaževičius Earns World Cinema Directing Acclaim at Sundance 2026
Writer-director Andrius Blaževičius captured the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for his feature How to Divorce During the War. Set in Lithuania, the four-country co-production explores a crumbling marriage intersecting with the immediate geopolitical shockwaves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Bottom Line
- The Milestone: Andrius Blaževičius claimed the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
- The Plot: Couple Marija (Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė) and Vytas (Marius Repšys) grapple with an impending divorce on the day after Marija tells Vytas she wants a divorce and Russia invades Ukraine.
- The Production: The multi-national project required demanding long takes and a surreal performance protest scene shot in freezing morning temperatures in Vilnius.
Directing Through Geopolitical Tremors
His winning feature, How to Divorce During the War, premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. As he noted of the project, seeking personal comfort can render people numb to crises happening right outside their immediate circle.
The narrative anchors itself in a specific, haunting timeline. Marija, played by Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, tells her husband Vytas, played by Marius Repšys, that she wants a divorce. The very next day, reality shatters as Russia invades Ukraine. Sharing a daughter named Dovile (Amelija Adomaitytė), the estranged pair must navigate their domestic wreckage while living in a country uniquely attuned to Eastern European aggression. Lithuania’s own history of occupation by Russia for almost 50 years gives the narrative a visceral weight that separates it from standard relationship dramas.
Surreal Production Realities in the Capital
Bringing this tense atmosphere to life required logistical audacity. During production in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, the crew staged a striking performance protest scene featuring actors covered in blood. Filmed on a cold Sunday morning next to a church, the sequence caught early-morning churchgoers off-guard. Blaževičius later praised the bravery of his cast, who performed in freezing conditions to capture the jarring juxtaposition of everyday civic life colliding with theatricalized pain.
That commitment to raw performance extended far beyond background spectacles. Blaževičius tackled a rigorous structural challenge by leaning into extended, dialogue-heavy long takes. Rather than relying on frantic editing choices in post-production, the director placed the rhythmic heavy lifting directly onto his actors. Their physical choices, pacing, and emotional cadence dictated the composition of the frame.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Director | Andrius Blaževičius |
| Key Cast | Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Marius Repšys, Amelija Adomaitytė |
| Festival Premiere | 2026 Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Dramatic Competition) |
| Accolade | Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic |
| Production Scale | Co-production across four countries (including post-production work in Prague, Dublin, and Luxembourg) |
The International Machinery Behind Indie Realism
While the setting remains intensely localized to Lithuania, the production pipeline spanned multiple European creative hubs. Blaževičius utilized the film’s four-country co-production structure to spend time working across Prague, Dublin, and Luxembourg during post-production.
Blaževičius has openly acknowledged the lottery-like odds of securing a slot at Sundance, making his feature’s direct win a notable milestone for Baltic cinema visibility on the global stage.
Sincerity Over Trend-Chasing
When asked about the secret to effective cinematic storytelling, Blaževičius points away from algorithmic trend-chasing and toward absolute sincerity. Citing literary and cinematic heroes ranging from Franz Kafka to Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen brothers, the director emphasizes that stylistic evolution matters just as much as authorial voice. He prefers filmmakers who refuse to repeat themselves identically from project to project.
Ultimately, How to Divorce During the War demands that audiences interrogate their own immediate realities. Drop a comment below with your thoughts on how modern international cinema tackles geopolitical crises.
