Aistė Diržiūtė (born 18 October 1991) is a Lithuanian actress best known for her role as Austė in ''

The Summer of Sangaile ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (Lithuanian: ''Sangailė'' or ''Sangailės Vasara'').

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Diržiūtė was born in

Vilkaviškis Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of of and rivers. The city got its name from the Vilkau ...

. From 1998 to 2005, Diržiūtė studied piano at a Vilkaviškis music school. In 2010 she moved to

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

where she studied music at the ''Vilnius college of higher education'' for a year and then entered the ''

Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania, is a state-supported conservatory that trains students in music, theatre, and multimedia arts. History Composer Juozas Naujalis founded a music school in 1919 in Kaunas. This ...

''. During her studies, Diržiūtė appeared in several commercials and got small roles in TV series.

2015-2016: Breakthrough

In 2015 Diržiūtė made her film debut. She co-starred in Robert Mullan's movie based on real events, ''We Will Sing'', and was cast as one of the lead roles in Alantė Kavaitė's ''

''. After ''The Summer of Sangaile'' premiered at the '' Berlin International Film Festival'', Diržiūtė was noticed by film critics and became the first Lithuanian actress named as one of the European Shooting Stars, alongside actors such as

Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...

and

Moe Dunford Moe Dunford (born 11 December 1987) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Vikings'' and '' Patrick's Day''. He is the recipient of a number of accolades, including three Irish Film & Television Awards. Early life Dunford was bo ...

. Diržiūtė also won the award for Best Lithuanian Actress at the ''

Vilnius International Film Festival The Vilnius International Film Festival (VIFF) Kino pavasaris is a film festival held annually in March in Vilnius, Lithuania since 1995, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films and audience. It is one of the most anticipa ...

'' and was nominated for both ''

Sidabrinė gervė Sidabrinė gervė (Silver Crane) are the Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and ...

'' and ''KINFO'' awards. After her success, she became a face of the ''“Body Talk”'' women's clothing collection in May 2015. In 2016, Diržiūtė starred in '' Kings' Shift'' directed by Ignas Miškinis and the short film ''Back'' directed by Gabrielė Urbonaitė. Both films premiered at the ''Vilnius International Film Festival''. She plays the role of Simona in an independent short, ''Sexy to the Point'', produced by students from ''Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre''.

2017–present: International career

After the success in Diržiūtė's home country Lithuania, actress started to work in foreign productions. In 2017 Diržiūtė starred in Russian biographical drama ''Kharms'' about an early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet Daniil Kharms. Diržiūtė portrayed poet's second wife Marina Malich. The movie had its premiere in ''20th Shanghai International Film Festival'', winning two awards for Best screenplay and Best cinematography. In 2018 Diržiūtė starred in Latvian-British historical fiction film ''

The Pagan King ''The Pagan King'' ( lv, Nameja gredzens – ' Namejs Ring', initially ''The King's Ring'') is a historical fiction action film directed by and co-written by Max Kinnings and Grauba. The film stars Edvin Endre, James Bloor, Aistė Diržiūtė ...

'', directed by Latvian director Aigars Grauba. In 2018 Diržiūtė played Joana in a film ''

Ashes in the Snow ''Ashes in the Snow'' is a World War II drama film based on ''The New York Times'' best selling novel ''Between Shades of Gray'' by Ruta Sepetys. The film is a coming-of-age tale of a young teenager named Lina who, with her mother and younger b ...

'', based on the best-selling book '' Between Shades of Gray'' by

Ruta Sepetys Ruta Sepetys ( lt, Rūta Šepetys; born November 19, 1967) is a Lithuanian-American writer of historical fiction. As an author, she is a ''New York Times'' and international bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal. She is a Rockefeller Foun ...

. It follows the Stalinist repressions of the mid-20th century and follows the life of young girl Lina as she is deported from her native Lithuania with her mother and younger brother, and the journey they take to a labor camp in Siberia. Diržiūtė appeared with actor Rom Blanco in Men in Black: International as a couple at Eiffel Tower.

Personal life

Sidabrinė Gervė 2018 speech

Before presenting an award for best actor in Sidabrinė Gervė 2018 awards, Diržiūtė made a speech about the current situation in the film industry in Lithuania and around the world. During the speech, actress mentioned her ''The Summer of Sangailė'' co-star Julija Steponaitytė and Paulė Bocullaitė and thanked for their bravery to speak out against sexual harassment.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirziute, Aiste 1991 births Living people 21st-century Lithuanian actresses Lithuanian film actresses Lithuanian stage actresses People from Vilkaviškis