Film Archive

Runner

East of the West Competition 2021 / Bėgikė / Lithuania, Czech Republic 2021

When Marija learns that her boyfriend, who has had another of his psychotic episodes, has disappeared from their home, she runs into the streets of the city in order to find him and hopefully prevent a tragedy. Andrius Blaževičius’s dynamic drama, set over the course of 24 hours, explores the subjects of love and freedom. Marija is played with vital energy by the actress Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, who was chosen for the prestigious Shooting Stars program at this year’s Berlinale.

Synopsis

When Marija learns that her boyfriend, who has had another of his psychotic episodes, has disappeared from their home, she runs into the streets of the city in order to find him and hopefully prevent a tragedy. In his second film, Lithuanian director Andrius Blaževičius explores the subjects of love and freedom since, as he puts it, “I’m interested in a person’s free will and choice to sacrifice their freedom for something extremely important to them.” Blaževičius has created an immensely dynamic drama, set over the course of 24 hours, in which formal elements such as a shaky camera and an unsettling soundtrack significantly add to the main protagonist’s emotional state. Marija is played with vital energy by Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, who was chosen for the prestigious Shooting Stars program at this year’s Berlinale.

Lenka Tyrpáková

About the film

87 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Andrius Blaževičius / Screenplay Marija Kavtaradzė, Teklė Kavtaradzė, Andrius Blaževičius / Dir. of Photography Narvydas Naujalis / Music Jakub Rataj / Editor Ieva Veiverytė / Art Director Aurimas Akšys / Producer Marija Razgutė / Production M-Films / Coproduction Bionaut / Cast Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Marius Repšys, Laima Akstinaitė / Sales Alief / Contact Marijana Harder

About the director

Andrius Blaževičius (1985, Vilnius). Selected filmography: Ten Reasons (Dešimt priežasčių, 2011, short), The Saint (Šventasis, 2016), Runner (Bėgikė, 2021).