Lithuanian director Andrius Blaževičius has won the Best Director award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival for his latest feature, How to Divorce During the War (Skyrybos karo metu).
The film was selected from more than 16,000 submissions worldwide and competed alongside nine other titles in the official competition. Announcing the award, the jury praised Blaževičius for his “exceptional talent and assured direction in a darkly comic film about life in wartime”, noting his ability to reveal the inner contradictions that trouble us all without losing the humanity of his characters.
“It is still hard to believe,” Blaževičius said after the ceremony. “Simply being selected for Sundance is already a tremendous recognition. To receive this award as well is an enormous honour. This achievement belongs to the entire team.”
Set in Vilnius in 2022, on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the film follows Marija, an ambitious senior executive who chooses the worst possible moment to initiate a conversation about divorce with her husband. As geopolitical tensions escalate, the couple must navigate both the practical realities of separation and the emotional strain of living through the outbreak of war, balancing personal crisis with the wider upheaval unfolding around them.
The leading roles are performed by Marius Repšys and European Shooting Star award recipient Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė. The film was produced by M-Films and financed in Lithuania by the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Vilnius Film Fund and LRT. It was created as an international co-production with Luxembourg, Ireland and the Czech Republic.
Founded in 1978 by Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival is widely regarded as one of the most important platforms for independent cinema worldwide and is known for discovering and launching internationally acclaimed filmmakers.
How to Divorce During the War is Blaževičius’s third feature. His previous films have received multiple national awards and international recognition. The film will be released in Lithuanian cinemas this autumn.
