- Occupation
Director - Country
Lithuania
Matelis Arūnas
Before flying back to the Earth
After his daughter survived eight months of treatment for leukaemia, the Lithuanian filmmaker Arunas Matelis did not turn his back on the hospital. He filmed the kids in the leukaemia ward in Vilnius during their day-to-day routine, without becoming sentimental. For the parents, their worst nightmare has come true, but what do the children themselves think? A life among medicine, IVs and tubes does not prevent them from just carrying on. Their adaptability is incredible. Before Flying Back to the Earth is interlaced with black-and-white pictures showing the children in the middle of a smile, yawn or gesture, momentarily freezing time in this thorough documentary that does not deal with death, but with life.
Sunday Gospel According to the Lift-man Albertas
Albertas, a lift-operator, sits all day waiting for someone to ring the elevator. His wait transcends his sense of community and symbolism, a sign that someone needs him. The film, rife with surreal humor, is the documentary version of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
Flight over Lithuania or 510 Seconds of Silence
The film features an incredibly low angel's flight over the dunes of Nida, Trakai castle, the lakes of Aukštaitija (Highlands), the roofs of the Old Town of Vilnius and the fantastically beautiful church steeples. It's like a mystical gliding just above the treetops, meadows covered by early morning mist, as well as the narrow streets of Vilnius. "Flight over Lithuania" was made for the international exhibition EXPO 2000 in Hanover, Germany.
From Unfinished Tales of Jerusalem
The film based on a strange old pagan tradition, still preserved in only one village in Semogitia (a part of Lithuania). The tradition goes back to the archaic space of the magic’s of folk theater. The tradition guarding the God on the Easter night have mixed pagan and Christianity rituals now. On that night theatrically dressed up "the Artists" and "the Warriors" gather in the church, where "the warriors" will guard the statue of the God and "the artists" will try to steal it. Having failed, they will mock the proud "the warriors", the villagers on guard and the sacred thinks in the church. The night will go deeper. The people and "the warriors" will get sleepily and must fight not only with "the artists" but also with fatigue. And we cannot understand what is it? A strange Semogitian game, longing for an unusual fiesta or mystic possibility to go lot of years back.
Flying over Blue Field
A man sits alone in a plane built at home, and keeps his balance between life and death. During his flight, immense landscapes pass by, half-deserted streets. Silence and waiting are all around. A film about solitude in the endless sky. Part poetry, silence and meditation.
UB Lama
A problematic 12 year-old Mongolian kid Galbatrakh (Galaa), who has no father, tries to survive in Mongolian ger (Mongolian house) district by selling goods at a black market, while skipping his school. However, one day his mother decides that Galaa should give it a try to became a lama, a Buddhist monk. This becomes boy’s dream and a plan for survival. Galaa visits Pethub, one of the most disciplined Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia, and tries to be accepted. In order to achieve this, he needs to study hard, get a permission from different high lamas and pass through complicated bureaucracy of the monastery. Will he succeed?
After his daughter survived eight months of treatment for leukaemia, the Lithuanian filmmaker Arunas Matelis did not turn his back on the hospital. He filmed the kids in the leukaemia ward in Vilnius during their day-to-day routine, without becoming sentimental. For the parents, their worst nightmare has come true, but what do the children themselves think? A life among medicine, IVs and tubes does not prevent them from just carrying on. Their adaptability is incredible. Before Flying Back to the Earth is interlaced with black-and-white pictures showing the children in the middle of a smile, yawn or gesture, momentarily freezing time in this thorough documentary that does not deal with death, but with life.
Sunday Gospel According to the Lift-man Albertas
Albertas, a lift-operator, sits all day waiting for someone to ring the elevator. His wait transcends his sense of community and symbolism, a sign that someone needs him. The film, rife with surreal humor, is the documentary version of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
Flight over Lithuania or 510 Seconds of Silence
The film features an incredibly low angel's flight over the dunes of Nida, Trakai castle, the lakes of Aukštaitija (Highlands), the roofs of the Old Town of Vilnius and the fantastically beautiful church steeples. It's like a mystical gliding just above the treetops, meadows covered by early morning mist, as well as the narrow streets of Vilnius. "Flight over Lithuania" was made for the international exhibition EXPO 2000 in Hanover, Germany.
From Unfinished Tales of Jerusalem
The film based on a strange old pagan tradition, still preserved in only one village in Semogitia (a part of Lithuania). The tradition goes back to the archaic space of the magic’s of folk theater. The tradition guarding the God on the Easter night have mixed pagan and Christianity rituals now. On that night theatrically dressed up "the Artists" and "the Warriors" gather in the church, where "the warriors" will guard the statue of the God and "the artists" will try to steal it. Having failed, they will mock the proud "the warriors", the villagers on guard and the sacred thinks in the church. The night will go deeper. The people and "the warriors" will get sleepily and must fight not only with "the artists" but also with fatigue. And we cannot understand what is it? A strange Semogitian game, longing for an unusual fiesta or mystic possibility to go lot of years back.
Flying over Blue Field
A man sits alone in a plane built at home, and keeps his balance between life and death. During his flight, immense landscapes pass by, half-deserted streets. Silence and waiting are all around. A film about solitude in the endless sky. Part poetry, silence and meditation.
UB Lama
A problematic 12 year-old Mongolian kid Galbatrakh (Galaa), who has no father, tries to survive in Mongolian ger (Mongolian house) district by selling goods at a black market, while skipping his school. However, one day his mother decides that Galaa should give it a try to became a lama, a Buddhist monk. This becomes boy’s dream and a plan for survival. Galaa visits Pethub, one of the most disciplined Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia, and tries to be accepted. In order to achieve this, he needs to study hard, get a permission from different high lamas and pass through complicated bureaucracy of the monastery. Will he succeed?
Arunas Matelis works as a director and a creative producer. Films by Arunas Matelis were awarded and screened in many world wide film festivals like: Cannes (“Directors’ fortnight” and “Critics’ Week”), Rotterdam, Torino, San Paulo, Oberhausen, Amsterdam/ IDFA, Leipzig, Moscow and others. And the most important documentary festivals in Europe like Amsterdam, Leipzig, Linz and many more already arranged the retrospectives of his works. As a producer Arunas successfully worked with the best Lithuanian film-makers, like: Henrikas Sablevicius, Audrius Stonys, Vytautas V. Lansbergis, Romas Lileikis, Oksana Buraja, Domantas Vildziunas and others. Among his awards as a director is a “Director’s Guild of America” award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary in 2007, “Silver Wolf” at IDFA , „Golden Dove“ at Leipzig, European Film Academy nomination for the best Documentary of the year (“European Oscar”), First Prize at Documenta Madrid (Spain), „Big Stamp Award” in Zagreb DOX (Croatia), Grand Prix at Parnu international documentary festival, main prize at Oberhausen Films Festival (Germany), special prizes at Brooklyn and “Silverdocs” festivals in USA, Bornholme in Denmark and many others.
Filmography (EN)
"Before Flying Back to the Earth" (Prieš parskrendant I Žemę) 52 min , 2005, 35mm and TV version -digital betacam , colour
"SUNDAY. The Gospel According to Liftman Albertas" ("SEKMADIENIS. Evangelija pagal liftininką Albertą"), 19 min., 2003, 35mm, colour.
"Flight over Lithuania or 510 seconds of silence"("Skrydis per Lietuvą arba 510 sekundžių tylos"), 10 min., 2000, 35mm, colour, co-directed with A. Stonys.
"The Diary of Forced Emigration" ("Priverstinės emigracijos dienoraštis"), 20min., 1999, DV, b/w.
"First farewell to Paradise" ("Pirmasis atsisveikinimas su Rojum"), 15 min., 1998, 35mm, b/w.
"From Unfinished Tales of Jerusalem" ("Iš dar nebaigtų Jeruzalės pasakų"), 26 min., 1996, 35mm, b/w.
"Self-portrait" ("Autoportretas"), 10 min., 1993, 35mm, b/w.
"Ten Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus" ("Dešimt minučių prieš Ikaro skrydį"), 10 min., 1991, 35mm, colour.
"Baltic way" ("Baltijos kelias"), 10 min., 1989, 35mm, b/w, co-directed with A.Stonys.
"Giants of Pelesa" ("Pelesos milžinai"), 10 min., 1989, 35mm, b/w.
Lithuanian National Prize of 2005.
Awards for "Before Flying Back to the Earth":
Best Lithuanian Film 2005 by Lithuanian Filmmakers Union
Best documentary in Directors Guild of America Awards 2006
Silver Wolf in International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), 2005
Golden Dove in International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, 2005
"Spirit Award for Documentary" in Brooklyn International Film Festival, 2006
Grand Prix in Pärnu International Film Festival, 2006
Special Jury Mention in Silverdocs Festival, 2006