Arthouse audiences and industry buyers at the Vilnius International Film Festival (VIFF) are getting a sampling of the best in cutting-edge European cinema with the second edition of the Smart 7, a selection of new features that will tour seven prominent Euro festivals this year.
The Smart 7 lineup at VIFF includes the world premieres of Gabi Sarga and Catalin Rotaru’s Romanian black comedy Where Elephants Go and the Polish love story It’s Not My Film from director Maria Zbaska, as well as local title Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius from Lithuanian director Tomas Vengris, which premiered at the Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia last year.
Other Smart 7 selections include Leonardo Mouramateus’ romantic comedy Greice and Helena Stefansdottir’s Icelandic thriller Natatorium —both Rotterdam premieres this year — Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer comedy Summer With Carmen, which bowed in Venice; and Julia de Castro and Maria Royo’s Spanish adventure comedy On The Go, a 2023 Locarno highlight.
The Smart 7’s European tour includes Greece’s Thessaloniki festival, Poland’s mbank New Horizons fest, the Reykjavik International Film Festival, the IndieLisboa fest in Portugal, Spain’s Filmmadrid and the Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania.
The Smart 7 program was launched last year to foster collaboration between Europe’s second-tier festivals, to nurture emerging talent, and to promote European cinema. The initiative is backed by the EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA Programme. The selection of seven features from emerging European filmmakers is meant to highlight “authentic storytelling and innovative cinematic language.”
“I am delighted and proud to witness how this network is fortifying the bonds and fostering collaboration among each of the festival teams on various levels,” said VIFF director Algirdas Ramaška. “The programmers faced a difficult task in selecting films that not only authentically represent their respective countries but also resonate with audiences across all participating festivals.”
After the festival tour, an international jury of university students from across Europe will select the best film from the group of seven and present the winning director with a €5,000 ($5,400) bursary.