| Arunas Matelis i  s a representative of the new generation of Lithuanian filmmakers. Arunas studied Mathematics at Vilnius University and later graduated from the Lithuanian Music Academy. In 1992, he established one of the first independent film production companies in Lithuania - “Nominum” - focused production on his motto “total cinema or poetic documentary”.The first Arunas’ doc “Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus” (1990) received numerous awards and critics called it a film manifest of new generation of Lithuanian filmmakers. His following documentary, “Flight over Lithuania or 510 of silence”, was awarded “Platinum Film” for best results in sales of DVD and VHS in Lithuania (including mainstream European and USA production). Films directed by Arunas Matelis were awarded or screened in many world wide film festivals like: Cannes (“Directors’ fortnight” and “Critics’ Week”), Rotterdam, Torino, San Paulo, Oberhauzen, Amsterdam/ IDFA, Leipzig and others. A.Matelis directed nine short documentaries prior to BEFORE FLYING BACK TO EARTH. He is the first director from Eastern Europe to receive a “Director’s Guild of America” award. His first feature doc. BEFORE FLYING BACK TO EARTH - A poetic, unsentimental film about the resilience of the human spirit – became one of the very few films in the world, which received 10 awards within less than one year of it’s first screening and among them most important in European documentary field like: “Silver Wolf” - International Documentary Festival Amsterdam/ IDFA 2005; “Golden Dove” International Leipzig Festival 2005; European Film Academy nomination for “The Best European Doc 2005” The Best Lithuanian Film 2005; Honourable mention of jury - SILVERDOCS (Silver Spring) 2006; Spirit award for DOC - international Brooklyn film festival 2006; „Big Stamp Award” main award in Zagreb DOX 2006; First Prize – main award – Documenta Madrid 2006; Lithuanian National Culture and Art Award; Grand Prix – Parnu international documentary festival. A. Matelis is Chairman of Documentary guild of Lithuanian Filmmakers union, also the “Minister of Migration and Changes” in the “Republic of Užupis” (the bohemian district of Vilnius, similar to Montmartre in Paris) and was awarded with one of the most honourable awards of the Republic of Lithuania - “the Cross of the Knight of the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas”. |
