Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania

Penkios su puse meilės istorijos, nutikusios viename Vilniaus bute

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania is a collection of intertwined stories, told through the eyes of an old AirBnB apartment. Within the walls of this apartment, we witness five guests experiencing a crisis of love, unaware of the stories that have transpired within the same walls and under the same bedsheets. Meghan, an Irishwoman stuck in a frustrating marriage, struggles with temptation during her younger sister’s hen party. Issa and Galia, an Israeli couple, find their desire to get pregnant colliding with the family legacy. Philip, an aging Hungarian bachelor, fights for a second chance with a local girl; Mykolas, a young stripper, has his secret rendezvous interrupted by unexpected guests. Between each episode Jolanta, the quiet cleaning lady, returns to wipe away the evidence of their joys and tragedies, while her own delicate love story unfolds.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Tomas Vengris
Script: Tomas Vengris, Tatia Rosenthal
Cinematography: Jurgis Kmins
Editing: Tomas Vengris
Sound: Julius Grigelionis
Music: Stephen Rennicks
Actors: Velta Žygure, Vidas Petkevičius, Jonas Braškys, Valene Kane, Alison Oliver, Marijus Mažūnas, Yiftach Klein, Hadar Ratzon Rotem, Ieva Andrejevaitė, Šarūnas Datenis, Géza Röhrig, Adelė Šuminskaitė, Gintautė Rusteikaitė, Skomantas Duoplys, Juliusz Krzysztof Warunek, Magdalena Celowna Janikowska
Production: Studio Uljana Kim
Producers: Uljana Kim
Co-production: Tiger Darling Productions, Studio Locomotive
Co-producers: Alicia Ní Ghráinne, Roberts Vinovskis
Costumes: Liene Dobraja
Production Design: Sigita Šimkūnaitė
Make Up: Jurgita Globytė
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Lithuania, Ireland, Latvia
Production Year: 2023
Duration: 112'
Contact: Alief
Awards/Distinctions: Best Film – Tallinn Black Nights FF 2023, Best Supporting Actress – Lithuanian Film Awards 2024

Tomas Vengris

Tomas Vengris is a Lithuanian/American filmmaker. He received his BA from Columbia University and completed his MFA in directing at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, CA. His directorial debut Motherland, a Lithuanian, Latvian, German, and Greek co-production, won the European Audience Award in the ArteKino Film Festival, Best Film in the Baltic Competition at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival and was selected in the Narrative Category for the 2020 European Film Awards. His AFI Thesis film, Kalifornija, was a national finalist in the Student Academy Awards. His short film, Squirrel, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, followed by a US premiere at SXSW. Tomas has worked as an editor under several internationally acclaimed directors, including Terrence Malick, Kelly Reichardt, Macon Blair, and Lena Dunham. Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania is Tomas’ second feature film.

Filmography

2011 Tinsel, Terrazzo and Brass (short)
2012 Kalifornija (short)
2013 For Abigail, Love Benjamin (short)
2015 Squirrel (short)
2019 Motherland
2023 Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania