Kristina Buožytė
Director Kristina Buožytė (born 1982) graduated with a degree in directing from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2008. Her debut feature film Kolekcionierė / The Collectress appeared that same year, which tells the story of losing the ability to express emotion. The central theme in this psychological drama is the relationship between a virtual image and reality. The Collectress was the discovery of the year: it not only garnered audience attention and positive critical reviews, but also won a 2008 Silver Crane Award for Best Feature Film in Lithuania. The Collectress also won the prize for Best Director at the KinoShock Open Film Festival in Anapa in Russia. Her second feature film Aurora / Vanishing Waves (2012) premiered in the East of the West competition section at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it received a special mention. The film also received a special mention at the European Film Festival Palić in Serbia, a special mention at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, the Emeric Pressburger Prize at the Jameson Cinefest Miskolc International Film Festival in Hungary, the Méliès d’Argent at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden, and the 2012 Méliès d’Or as Best European Fantastic Feature Film. It collected four prizes at the Austin Fantastic Fest: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actress in a leading role. It is an adventure love story, told through the genre of science fiction. A modern story, it develops in two different places, and examines the nature of passion by revealing the dichotomy between the corporeal (real) and the mental (ideal) world. The film poses a question about what it is that governs humans: instincts and inner desires, or the feeling of responsibility and control.