We are delighted and excited to confirm our first special guest! Gabrielė Urbonaitė, the director of the LBFF opening film Renovation, will attend the event and the Q&A following both screenings of her film on Friday 7 November.

A friendly reminder that on 7 November all Renovation ticket holders are welcome to join the opening reception and enjoy a complimentary drink at the cinema's Atrium Bar from 5pm to 6pm.

Hurry up, the opening evening tickets are selling fast, don’t miss out!

Gabrielė Urbonaitė (born in 1993, Vilnius, Lithuania) is a writer, director and editor. She directed several short films, including The Swimmer that won National Lithuanian Film Award Silver Crane. She participated in Berlinale Talents, Talent Camp Odense, and Reykjavik Talent Lab, and was named Mountainfilm Emerging Filmmaker in 2020. As editor, she worked on Lithuanian Film Award-winning Remember to Blink. She holds a BFA in Film from Emerson College and an MFA in Screenwriting & Directing from Columbia University.

“While an existential crisis at 30 might be a universal experience, it’s also culturally specific. We feel pressure from our parents to live a certain way, along with the existential threat of today. Constantly reminded of life’s fragility, we begin to reevaluate how we truly want to live. I wanted to convey the reality of living with a war on the periphery - feeling the anxiety about it, but also the need to carry on with our lives. I wanted to explore these serious themes with humour and light, as balance is important for me both in life and in cinema,” says Gabriele about her latest film. Stay tuned for more.

See you on Friday 7 November!

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