Meet the Lithuanian Berlinale Talents

This year, two Lithuanian talents join the Berlinale Talents programme – Milda Baginskaitė and Vytautas Puidokas. In its 21st edition, the Berlin International Film Festival’s talent development initiative Berlinale Talents is all about exploring humour in serious times and appealing to the restorative powers of this universal human trait.

By Gabija Pluke

Vytautas Puidokas is a freelance documentary filmmaker based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Vytautas has a degree in Media and Film studies from the University of Surrey (UK). His career started in Lithuanian National Television, where he has worked as a scriptwriter and director. Vytautas’ debut feature-length documentary El Padre Medico (2019) premiered in Camden IFF (USA) and was nominated for best documentary in Lithuania. His mid-length film Before They Meet (2021) is part of a six countries co-production Borderline, and has been nominated for the best Flemish docu-series. His films have been screened in festivals around Europe and the USA.

In 2022 Vytautas received the Vilnius International Film Festival award for emerging local filmmaker. Apart from documentaries, Vytautas also creates music videos and video installations. His work covers topics related to migration, history, and identity.

Currently Vytautas is working on a feature-length documentary about addiction Abandoned, and a collaborative doc Blue / Yellow about Lithuania’s help for war-torn Ukraine.

“As crazy as it sounds, it will be my first time in Berlinale, so I am very careful with any expectations,” says Vytautas. “However, every film event is a possibility to push forward your old projects, come up with new ones, and most importantly meet like-minded people who might accompany one in the future.”

Milda Baginskaitė is a Lithuanian screenwriter, director and theatre maker based in the UK. Milda’s work focuses on themes of identity, culture, and coming-of-age narratives. Her short films have screened and received awards at several international Oscar and BAFTA qualifying film festivals. Milda’s projects have been backed by BBC Arts, BFI, Creative England, Girls in Film, and others. She is a selected member of BAFTA Connect and Directors UK. Milda is currently developing serial content with a Warner Bros Discovery Production Company and writing her first feature length film.

“I am currently in post-production of my latest short Lia IRL funded by Mintworthy project. As a TV show co-creator, I am developing a drama series that has recently been optioned by a Warner Bros Discovery production company,” says Milda. “With a few successful shorts under my belt, my goal is to move from shorts to features. As well as writing and developing a feature length script myself, as a director I am attached to a feature film that has already received BFI early development funding and was longlisted for a Netflix first feature development scheme. Although creatively I am established in the UK, I hope to start working in Lithuania soon also.”

When it comes to Berlinale, Milda is looking to find collaborators for her future projects and connect with industry peers as well as promote her latest short film Lia IRL