Baltic Event Works in Progress
DICE-CHING-O-MAT
Solitary star seeking a constellation.
Vilis (55), a scholar of Asian Studies, finds himself trapped in the CUBE – a mysterious, elevator-like structure. When the CUBE flips, Vilis hits his head and realises he no longer knows who he is. An intercom instructs him to leave through the red doors and find the green doors outside.
The red doors lead Vilis to Vilnius, locked down by the 2020 pandemic. There, he encounters his wife and adult children – two daughters and a son – yet feels like a stranger in his own family. His children are unsurprised; after all, their father had long since vanished into his academic bubble.
Director's note
Vilis is a 55-year-old professor of Asian Studies – a man who believed life was something to understand, not to feel. One day, he finds himself inside a structure we call 'The Cube' – a physical manifestation of his mind.
We built it to resemble a worn-out Soviet elevator. It was rigged in multiple ways – hung from a crane, mounted on vibrating platforms, fixed in a centrifuge – like in Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey,' turning and tumbling our protagonist inside.
Through the intercom, Vilis's grandmother tells him: 'Exit through the red doors, find the green ones outside.' That's how the story begins – a man's odyssey back to the family he left behind emotionally.
'Dice-Ching-o-Mat' began with something I experienced during the pandemic, when my own world stopped – and I turned back to my family. Thematically, it nods to Ozu's 'Tokyo Story' – only here, the estranged one is the father. The film raises universal questions: How do we relate to the people closest to us? Could we do more? Could it be different?
Subjects:
familial relationships, COVID
Kristijonas Vildžiūnas is a film director whose work has been recognized internationally, including two Lithuanian Oscar submissions. His feature film debut, "Nuomos Sutartis" / "The Lease" (2002), premiered at the Venice 59th Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in the "Controcorrente" competition and won the "Best Feature Film of the Baltics" at Arsenals IFF (Latvia). His second feature, "Aš esi tu" / "You Am I" (2006), a co-production with Pandora Film Produktion (Germany), premiered in the official selection "Un Certain Regard" at the 59th Festival de Cannes. It was honored with the "Best Feature Film of the Baltics", the FIPRESCI Jury diploma, and the Special Jury Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia). Vildžiūnas directed "Kai apkabinsiu tave" / "Back to Your Arms" (2010), which was submitted as Lithuania's foreign-language Oscar entry in 2011. The film swept the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards 'Silver Crane'2011,' winning for best full-feature, best director, best script, best leading actress, best leading actor, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, and to the film production designer. In 2016, his feature "Senekos diena" / "Seneca's Day" was also submitted as Lithuania's foreign-language Oscar entry and earned Kristijonas Vildžiūnas the "Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts" 2016. His most recent feature, "Dainos lapei" / "Songs for a Fox" (2021), premiered in the main competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2021 and won the "Most Original Movie Prize" at Electricdreams IFF 2022 (Italy). It also received the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards 'Silver Crane'2022' for best music.
Uljana Kim graduated from the Institute of Cinematography in Moscow (VGIK) in 1993 and is a film critic by education.
KIEMAS / COURTYARD, 1999, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0201707/ AŠ ESI TU /YOU AM I, 2006, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811164/ LOŠĖJAS / THE GAMBLER, 2013, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2924336/ EATURE FILM ABOUT LIFE, 2021, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15403134/ MARIUPOLIS 2, 2022, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20221546/
Kristijonas Vildžiūnas is a film director whose work has been recognized internationally, including two Lithuanian Oscar submissions. His feature film debut, "Nuomos Sutartis" / "The Lease" (2002), premiered at the Venice 59th Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in the "Controcorrente" competition and won the "Best Feature Film of the Baltics" at Arsenals IFF (Latvia). His second feature, "Aš esi tu" / "You Am I" (2006), a co-production with Pandora Film Produktion (Germany), premiered in the official selection "Un Certain Regard" at the 59th Festival de Cannes. It was honored with the "Best Feature Film of the Baltics", the FIPRESCI Jury diploma, and the Special Jury Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia). Vildžiūnas directed "Kai apkabinsiu tave" / "Back to Your Arms" (2010), which was submitted as Lithuania's foreign-language Oscar entry in 2011. The film swept the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards 'Silver Crane'2011,' winning for best full-feature, best director, best script, best leading actress, best leading actor, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, and to the film production designer. In 2016, his feature "Senekos diena" / "Seneca's Day" was also submitted as Lithuania's foreign-language Oscar entry and earned Kristijonas Vildžiūnas the "Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts" 2016. His most recent feature, "Dainos lapei" / "Songs for a Fox" (2021), premiered in the main competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2021 and won the "Most Original Movie Prize" at Electricdreams IFF 2022 (Italy). It also received the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards 'Silver Crane'2022' for best music.