5 Best Baltic Film Directors to Watch

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are beautiful countries. Full of amazing nature but also deep and vibrant culture and cinematic traditions that even go as far as Hollywood. From Lithuanian-American directors like Zemeckis, who directed Forrest Gump, to the Godfather of cinema, Jonas Mekas, to the latest Oscar winner Flow directed by Gints Zilbalodis. these Baltic nations have developed some of the most iconic names in the film industry. So, to celebrate them, here is a short list of our favourites from these three stunning nations. 

1. Šarūnas Bartas (Lithuania)

Šarūnas Bartas is a well-considered master of minimalist cinema, renowned for his profound characterized by sparse dialogue and striking visuals. His notable works include Three Days (1991) and The Corridor (1995). He is a four-time Cannes Film Festival nominee.

2. Laila Pakalniņa (Latvia)

Laila Pakalnina is one of the most iconic names within Latvian cinema, having been nominated twice for the Cannes Film Festival award. From Pitons, a 2003 film, to Picas, a film that follows two 18-year-old guys who work in a pizzeria and make grandiose plans for the future, but one night they turn their lives upside down. She is undoubtedly a great director.

3. Veiko Õunpuu (Estonia)

From his 2013 film, Free Range to Sügisball, a 2007 film about the loneliness, despair and hope of six people who all live in a bleak Soviet-era apartment complex in Tallinn, Estonia. Õunpuu is certainly a great director when it comes to exploring complex themes that are still very much present today in the Baltic states.

4. Arūnas Žebriūnas (Lithuania)

Lithuanian legend, Arunas Zebriunas is widely known for his films The Girl and the Echo (1964), Velnio nuotaka (1974) and Chas polnoluniya (1988). In 2010, he won the 2010 Winner Golden Crane for his continued outstanding individual contributions to Lithuanian film over the years.

5. Ilmar Raag (Estonia)

Tribeca Film Festival winner Ilmar Raag is an inspiring film director who has made such films as the 2007 movie The Class, and Love is Blind, a 2013 film. With a superb range of films, Raag is certainly on the top list of Baltic movie directors.