LMTA CINEMA NEWS: NORDFILM NETWORK MEETS IN VILNIUS

On September 27-28, the Nordfilm network had the kick-off meeting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre bringing together six Nordic and Baltic film schools under the Nordplus programme. The Nordfilm network is the initiative by the LMTA Department of Film and Television which is also in charge of coordinating the network’s activities. The September meeting focused on discussing the guidelines and principles of the activities within the Nordplus-funded project Green Future.

The meeting saw representatives of the Latvian Academy of Culture, Dalarna University (Sweden), Stockholm University of the Arts, Iceland University of the Arts, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Helsinki, and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

During the meeting, Thorbjörn Swenberg, Vice-Dean at Dalarna University, emphasized that one of the key principles of a green future is sustainability which, unfortunately, even in Sweden, is usually narrowed down to environmental friendliness and ecology. Thorbjörn Swenberg sees sustainability as a much wider concept including social, economic, and ecological balance.

Today, sustainability in film projects is perceived as a necessity. “Nowadays nobody any longer considers whether we need sustainability in the cinema; yet, to have a sustainable film industry, we must start implementing the principles of sustainability already during the studies at film schools,” says Vytautas Dambrauskas, Head of the LMTA Department of Film and Television.

“It is this concern that has united us in the Nordfilm network,” agrees Steven Meyers, Head of the Film Studies at the Iceland University of the Arts.

During the meeting, the schools agreed to allocate part of the Nordfilm network’s budget to scholarships for students who came to the LMTA Department of Film and Television from Ukraine.

Also, the Nordfilm representatives unanimously agreed to enhance the programme of international short-term exchange mobility for film students.

Giedrė Kabašinskienė
English translation – Viltė Gridasova
5 October 2022