Arūnas Matelis (born 9 April 1961, in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
) is a
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 lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n
documentary film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
. From 1979 till 1983 Arūnas Matelis studied Mathematics at
Vilnius University and later in 1989 graduated from the
Lithuanian Music Academy
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 s ...
. In 1992, he established one of the first independent film production companies in Lithuania, "Nominum". In 2006 Matelis became a full member of
European Film Academy with the right to vote.
Filmography
*''Pelesos milžinai'' (1989)
*''Baltijos kelias'' (1989)
*''Dešimt minučių prieš Ikaro skrydį'' (1991)
*''Autoportretas'' (1993)
*''Iš dar nebaigtų Jeruzalės pasakų'' (1996)
*''Pirmasis atsisveikinimas su Rojum'' (1998)
*''Priverstinės emigracijos dienoraštis'' (1999)
*''Skrydis per Lietuvą arba 510 sekundžių tylos (Flight over Lithuania or 510 seconds of silence) ''(2000)
*''Sekmadienis. Evangelija pagal liftininką Albertą'' (2003)
*''Prieš parskrendant į žemę (
Before Flying Back to Earth
''Before Flying Back to Earth'' (originally released in Lithuania as ''Prieš parskrendant į žemę'' in 2005) is the first feature-length documentary film by the Lithuanian film director Arūnas Matelis. In a lyrical, yet unsentimental fashio ...
)'' (2005)
*''
Wonderful Losers: A Different World'' (2017)
Awards
Matelis is one of the recipients of the
Lithuanian National Prize
The Lithuanian National Prize ( lt, Nacionalinė kultūros ir meno premija), established in 1989, is an award granted for achievements in culture and the arts. It has been awarded annually in six categories since 2006 (between 1989 and 2006 there w ...
of 2005.
''"Prieš parskrendant į žemę"'', the first
feature-length documentary by Matelis about children hospitalized with
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
, is the most highly acclaimed Lithuanian film and is considered one of the best
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an documentary films of 2005, awarded in numerous festivals:
Nominum
* Best documentary in Directors Guild of America Awards 2006
The 59th Directors Guild of America Awards, honoring the outstanding directorial achievements in films, documentary and television in 2006, were presented on February 3, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. The ceremony was hosted by Carl Re ...
* Best Lithuanian Film 2005 by Lithuanian Filmmakers Union
* Silver Wolf in International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
(IDFA), 2005
* Golden Dove in , 2005
* Main Prize in Festival Documenta Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, 2005
* "Spirit Award for Documentary" in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
International Film Festival, 2006
* Grand Prix in Pärnu International Film Festival, 2006
* Special Jury Mention in Silverdocs Festival, 2006
* ''Veliki pečat'' international competition award in ZagrebDox Film Festival, 2006
The film is nominated for the European Film Academy best European documentary award of 2005.
Further reading
* ''Arūnas Matelis: Films Emerge from Sensations'' in: ''Lithuanian Cinema: Special Edition for Lithuanian Film Days in Poland 2015'', Auksė Kancerevičiūtė d. Vilnius: Lithuanian Film Centre, 2015. .
References
External links
Personal Website
*
Lithuanian film directors
Lithuanian documentary film directors
Living people
1961 births
Vilnius University alumni
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Film people from Kaunas
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