''Isaac'' ( lt, Izaokas) is the first feature film by

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 director Jurgis Matulevičius. It is the first feature film that deals with the participation of Lithuanians in the killing of Jews during the Holocaust. The drama is based on the last novel of the same name by

Antanas Škėma Antanas Škėma (; November 29, 1910 – September 11, 1961) was a Lithuanian writer, playwright, stage actor and director. His best known work is the novel ''Balta drobulė'' (''White Shroud''). Life and career Antanas Škėma was born on No ...

before his death in 1961. It was selected as the Lithuanian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...

Premise

''Isaac'' is drama about a Lithuanian activist haunted by the guilt of killing a Jew in the Lietūkis garage massacre in June 1941.

Production

wrote the novel in 1960–1961, but it attracted little attention. It was first published in a volume of his collected works in 1985. It was republished as a separate work in 2018. The film was made in

by the Film Jam production company. The filming took place in

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...

and lasted about two and a half years. Its world premiere happened in November 2019 at the

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF ( et, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIA ...

. In 2020, it was nominated for the Discovery prize at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

. In 2020, it was shown at the Glasgow Film Festival, at the

Riviera International Film Festival The Riviera International Film Festival (RIFF) is an international film festival dedicated to filmmakers under 35 that takes place every year in Sestri Levante. Since the 2018 edition, there is a section entirely dedicated to documentaries RIFF ...

and at Eastern European Film Festival Cottbus (Germany). In October 2020, ''Isaac'' was also named second best film and Matulevičius was selected best second best director at the 19th Imagineindia International Film Festival in Spain.

Critical response

Lithuanian National Radio and Television Lithuanian National Radio and Television ( Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija) is a non-profit public broadcaster that has been providing regular radio services since 1926 and television broadcasts since 1957. LRT joined Euro ...

said that the film was "the most surprising" at the

and praised the film for its anti-war message. Stephen Dalton writing for the ''

Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' noted that such a confident and sophisticated work deserved a wider audience beyond the usual niche demographic for subtitled art house fare".

References

{{reflist Lithuanian drama films 2019 films Films about the aftermath of the Holocaust

Premise

Production

Critical response

See also

References