The Summer of Sangailė
The Summer of Sangailė (Lithuanian: Sangailės vasara) is a 2015 Lithuanian-language drama film written and directed by Alantė Kavaitė. It was screened in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.[1] The film won the directing award in the dramatic world cinema category at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[2] It also won Best Film, Best Actress (Julija Steponaitytė) and best set design (Ramunas Rastauskas) at the Silver Crane Awards.[3] The film was selected as the Lithuanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.[4]
| The Summer of Sangailė | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Alantė Kavaitė |
| Produced by | Živilė Gallego Antoine Simkine |
| Written by | Alantė Kavaitė |
| Starring | Julija Steponaityte Aistė Diržiūtė |
| Music by | Jean-Benoît Dunckel |
| Cinematography | Dominique Colin |
| Edited by | Joëlle Hache |
| Distributed by | Fralita Films Les Films d'Antoine Viking Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Lithuania France Netherlands |
| Language | Lithuanian |
Plot
Sangailė is a simple girl who dreams of becoming a stunt pilot but her lack of self-confidence and vertigo are preventing her from getting into a cockpit. Sangailė meets another teenage girl, Austė, at an air show. As the two girls spend more time together Austė finds ways to get alone time with Sangailė. Throughout the film Sangailė is shown cutting herself in her bathroom. Austė uses photography and fashion to highlight Sangaile's inner and outer beauty. The two girls become romantically involved and they enjoy their summer days together revealing their passions and secrets. Austė tries to help Sangailė stop cutting herself by becoming her support system and listening to her. There are scenes between Sangailė and her parents that show a strained relationship between her and her mother. Eventually Austė convinces Sangailė to go on a stunt plane ride but Sangailė's vertigo kicks in causing her to feel sick and blame Austė. Sangailė eventually apologizes to Austė for yelling and ignoring her. With the support of Austė, Sangailė decides to train herself to get over her vertigo so she can ride in a plane again. The film ends with two years having passed since Austė and Sangailė last saw each other and both are living their dreams. Austė got into fashion school and Sangailė is flying planes for the air show.
Cast
- Julija Steponaityte as Sangailė
- Aistė Diržiūtė as Austė
- Jūratė Sodytė as Sangailė's mother
- Martynas Budraitis as Sangailė's father
See also
- List of LGBT films directed by women
- List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films of 2015
- List of submissions to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Lithuanian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- "Panorama 65th Berlinale". Berlinale. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Puig, 'Me & Earl wins top 2 Sundance awards' (1 February 2015). "Claudia". Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- Aguilar, Carlos. "35 Films That Could Become Foreign Language Oscar Submissions". Indiewire. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- Holdsworth, Nick (11 September 2015). "Oscars: Lithuania Nominates 'The Summer of Sangaile' for Foreign Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 September 2015.