The Commission

During the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmaker Vytautas Oškinis shared a home with his grandfather, former head of state Vytautas Landsbergis. Their quiet domestic life is punctuated by political commentary and the sounds of piano and flute. As Landsbergis revisits his most important documents and works before his fragile memory fades, Oškinis’s camera captures a story about the bond forming between generations, and about a spirited, creative mind residing in a body increasingly resistant to it. Their artistic collaboration culminates in a joint appearance on the contemporary opera stage in the film’s finale.

For more than a decade, Artūras Morozovas has been photographing people in vulnerable situations – those who have experienced the Russian occupation and its consequences, those affected by the war in Ukraine, and those experiencing social isolation in Lithuania. He explores social problems that are still felt in both countries as a result of the Soviet occupation.

Young artist and mother Ieva follows her lover Vadim to a small Lithuanian town and together they create musical performance "The Robot and the Butterfly". While her daughter stays with grandparents, young artists meet creative challenges that sour their relationship. And Ieva starts questioning if her passion and art is worth sacrificing relationship with her daughter.