Lithuanian film – in the most important European documentary film forum

End of November is very important period for documentary film-makers, because right at that time the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is held, annually attracting about 120 thousand fans of creative documentaries.

The festival program includes 200 films from around the world, and also special market for currently produced films (IDFA Forum), which is the biggest event in Europe for documentary film directors, producers, TV broadcasters, distributors and investors.

IDFA forum organizers annually select fifty films and their creators from approximately 800 contenders, and they are given the opportunity to present their projects to potential investors, distributors or co-producers in auditoriums of various sizes, as well as during individual meetings.

This year, the new Lithuanian documentary film "Gladiators. Another Planet" by Arūnas Matelis, that is currently in production, was invited to participate in the IDFA Forum, taking place on 24-26 November.

Up to 25 projects participate in the Round Table Pitch, to which the film by Matelis was selected. Participants of this section present their projects in an intimate atmosphere to a small circle of interested investors and distributors.

"Gladiators. Another Planet" is only the seventh Lithuanian film in the IDFA Forum throughout the entire history of independent Lithuania, and the first since 2007.

The upcoming film by Matelis is a co-production of seven countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Belgium); the rights to broadcast this story have already been acquired by television companies of five European countries. In Lithuania, the film will be broadcast by "Lietuvos rytas" TV.

Participation of the film's creators in the IDFA Forum and production of the film is partially funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre.