Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Katkus was awarded Best Director at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday for his feature debut The Visitor, according to a statement by the Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris.
The film had its world premiere at the Czech festival, now in its 59th edition.
“Only after arriving here and having the chance to stay longer did I finally understand what everyone who had participated before was talking about,” Katkus said in the statement.
“People told me: You’ll see, this city and this festival really love cinema. People go to the movies eagerly and want to discover. It was a joy to experience everything from both sides – as a viewer, because I had the chance to see many amazing films, and as a filmmaker.”
This year, the festival jury split the Best Director award between Katkus and French director Nathan Ambrosioni, who was honoured for his film Out of Love.
The Visitor is Katkus’ first full-length feature. The story follows a man in his 30s named Danielius, who returns to his hometown to sell his late parents’ apartment. No longer in a rush and feeling a quiet loneliness, he gradually reconnects with people and a town that no longer feels like his own.
The film was recognised even during development. In 2022, it received the Next Step Award at Cannes Critics’ Week and won the top prize at the Les Arcs Co-Production Market in France.
Katkus previously directed three short films: Community Gardens (2019), which screened at Cannes Critics’ Week; Places (2020), which premiered in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section; and Cherries (2022), the first Lithuanian film to screen in the official short film competition at Cannes.
Cherries was also selected by Cannes to represent the festival at the European Film Awards and was screened at more than 70 international festivals.
The Lithuanian premiere of The Visitor is scheduled for September.
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