Jūratė Leikaitė-Aškinienė
The animator, producer, screenwriter and artist Jūratė Leikaitė (born 1963) graduated from the LSS State Art Institute in 1986. She debuted with Metamorfozės / Metamorphoses (1996), a brilliant and courageous film for adults, and later began making animated films for children at the Lithuanian Film Studios. That was where she created her trilogy about Maiva the snail, Sraigė Maiva / The Arrogant Snail (2000), Svajonių bokštas / The Tower of Dreams (2001) and Solistė / The Soloist (2002). In 2003, she established the Filmų štrichai studio. The film Užgavėnės / Shrovetide (2005), which was made with mixed animation techniques, has been shown at more than 30 international festivals abroad, as well as winning the Grand Prix at the International Animation Film Festival Tindirindis in 2005.
She has developed a unique style in her interpretations of Lithuanian legends and traditions. Her animated films are characterised by playfulness, and by experimentation with the means of expression. She has also made the black-and-white animated film Marti iš jaujos / The Bride from the Barn (2006), based on illustrations by the artist Viktoras Petravičius. Drawings and photographs are combined in the film Margučių rytas / Easter Morning (2007), which won a Silver Crane Award for Best Animation Film in 2008. The hand-drawn Taip Laima lėmė / Laima Determines the Destiny (2011) won two Silver Crane Awards for Best Animated Film and Best Composer (Kipras Mašanauskas). Leikaitė has produced DVD collections of her animated and documentary films, called Lietuvių animacija. Šventės ir sakmės / Lithuanian Animation. Folk Tales and Legends (2008) and Mažosios pasakėlės. Lietuviška animacija vaikams / Short Tales. Lithuanian Animation for Children (2010), and Lietuvių animacija. Sakmės apie laumes / Lithuanian Animation. Legends about Fairies (2012).