Main Activities and History
Origin & Philosophy
The Film and TV Department, which is generally called the National Film School was founded in 1993 by the legendary documentary film director Henrikas Šablevičius whom students and colleagues called by the nickname Šoblė. At the core of the School’s philosophy are Šablevičius’ personal values: professionalism, strong and vital artistic ideas, respect for tradition, ability to express ideas in an exceptionally unique way and, to quote the great master, “to move forward without stopping at unnecessary and passing things”.
Study profile
The moving image is the most attractive and significant art form today, yet complexity is at the heart of this art. Therefore a cluster of study programmes such as directing, cinematography, screenwriting, sound directing, film management, film study (theory) and acting are offered at the same time and the same study cycle. Multidisciplinarity is a characteristic feature that distinguishes the film and TV studies within the academic scope of the Academy. Students and teachers of the School cooperate with colleagues representing other art disciplines including music composition and performance, dance and drama. This continuous interaction naturally generates new and innovative ideas.
Faculty
The Film and TV Department has about 102 students and 22 teachers including celebrated film directors: Janina Lapinskaitė , Audrius Stonys, Algimantas Puipa, Giedrė Beinoriūtė; Arūnas Matelis; DOPs: directors of photography: Ramūnas Greičius, Viktoras Radzevičius, Mantas Šatkus; sound directors: Saulius Urbanavičius, Algirdas Veževičius, Antanas Kučinskas (Head of the Film and Television Department), Vytis Puronas; script writers: Ramunė Čekuolytė, Raimondas Paškevičius; film researchers / theoreticians: Živilė Pipinytė, Rasa Paukštytė and other staff members.
Art & Industry
The School offers integrated courses that enable students to combine their creativity and modern technology. The academic and technical staff that are top level European experts help students to express their artistic ideas and implement them professionally in a number of lectures and seminars, hands-on workshops, and real film and TV productions made in creative crews. A number of film festivals are social partners of the Department, therefore students have an excellent opportunity to present their films at international festivals: the Žiemos ekranai (Ecrans d’hiver), International film festival Kino pavasaris, Vilnius Film Shorts, Scanorama, Vilnius Documentary Film Festival, Vokiško kino dienos (Deutschsprachige Filmtage).
Every Monday of the academic year students have sessions where they watch and discuss films in the famous Šoblės Film Club. The first weekend of March is crowned by the international students’ Šoblės Film Festival.
In 2024, the Department of Film and Television was separated from the Faculty of Theatre and Film to become the LMTA National Film School.