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 Traka ...

) 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, pr ...

. From 1979 till 1983 Arūnas Matelis studied Mathematics at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

and later in 1989 graduated from the Lithuanian Music Academy. 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 The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

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)'' (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 A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

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 * 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 and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

(IDFA), 2005 * Golden Dove in

International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every year in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and D ...

, 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 Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...

International Film Festival, 2006 * Special Jury Mention in

Silverdocs The AFI Docs (formerly Silverdocs) documentary film festival is an American international film festival created by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel. It is held every year in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Starte ...

Festival, 2006 * ''Veliki pečat'' international competition award in

ZagrebDox ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival taking place in Zagreb every year, in late February / early March. Launched in 2005, the festival is intended to provide audiences and experts insight into recent documentary films, stimulate ...

Film Festival, 2006 The film is nominated for the

best European documentary award of 2005.

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 {{lithuania-film-director-stub

Filmography

Awards

Further reading

References

External links