New Lithuanian film "The Summer of Sangaile" - among Hollywood stars in the competition of Sundance Festival

For Lithuanian cinema it is a significant event. Late last night, the prestigious Sundance Film Festival has officially announced that for the first time a Lithuanian film will compete in the competition program of feature films. Film "The Summer of Sangaile" about a teenage girl, directed by Alantė Kavaitė, will seek appreciation at the festival that takes place in January. This will also be the world premiere of the film.

This year, Sundance festival selected only 12 feature films to its world cinema dramatic competition. These 12 are the lucky ones who made it to the competition of more than two thousand feature films offered from all over the world.

"This is an important event for Lithuanian cinema. Each year, this festival is attended by the US and world cinema elite. Premiere of the film at Sundance will be a strong start for the film, which surpassed all our expectations," - says one of the film's producers Živilė Gallego.

Sundance, the largest independent film festival in the USA, based in Park City, Utah, annually attracts celebrities of the film world. It has been visited by Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Daniel Radcliffe, Amanda Seyfried, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julianne Moore and other stars.

Sundance festival is distinguished by the fact that for many actors and directors it becomes a platform to their further successful career. Current celebrity filmmakers, such as Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Todd Field, David O. Russell, Steve James, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, James Wan, Edward Burns and Jim Jarmusch, received their big break at this festival.

"It's very pleasant news, because I have put a lot of heart and effort in the film, it will be interesting to share with the world my emotions about the most beautiful and the most difficult teenage years. For me it was important to shoot "Sangaile" in Lithuania, because here I have spent my teenage years. Most exciting is that the world will see the talented Lithuanian actors and work of other creators," - says the film's director Alantė Kavaitė, currently living in France.

"Congratulations to the film's director and the entire crew on getting into the competition program of one of the most famous film festivals. Appearance of "The Summer of Sangaile" at the Sundance Film Festival is a great start for the film, which opens new possibilities for the entire international team of talent. I am glad that in the coming year, "The Summer of Sangaile" will turn the eyes of international film community to Lithuania," - says Rolandas Kvietkauskas, director of the Lithuanian Film Centre that gave support for the film production.

The Sundance Film Festival in the USA is being held for the 27th time. The festival was founded in 1978 by the legendary actor Robert Redford. Only a documentary Lithuanian film has so far taken part in the competition program of the Sundance festival - "The Other Dream Team" by Marius Markevičius, in 2012.

Feature film "The Summer of Sangaile" was produced by the company Fralita Films together with French company Les Films d'Antoine, also with contribution of the Dutch production company Viking Films. Production of the film in Lithuania was funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre.