Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

A Lithuanian perspective on women's issues

Her feature film, `A land of glass', was well received at the film festival in Chennai

It is a new experience for Janina Lapinskaite, who is attending the International Film Festival of Tamil Nadu, now on in Chennai. She talks to S.R. Ashok Kumar about the film festival. A film made by this director from Lithuania, `A land of glass,' was shown to a packed house at the South Indian Film Chamber Hall. Ms. Lapinskaite is happy about the film festival and about how locals have responded to her movie.

"It is my first visit to India — Chennai. The International Tamil Film Academy and Seventh Channel are doing a fantastic work... " she says. `A land of glass' is this director's first feature film. Earlier, she made documentaries. Her husband, Algimantas Puipa, is a popular film director.

"When we were with Soviet Union, we made 15 feature films a year. But now we do two films a year, because of financial problems. This film is the latest from my country... " she says.

Ms. Lapinskaite and her husband make different kinds of films. Mr. Puipa has to his credit over a dozen films, mostly on war and concentration camps. He has won awards at various film festivals.

"But in the first film, I took up a women's issue. It was screened at various festivals. `A land of glass' is about a woman and her way of life. After her second baby's difficult birth and subsequent illness, a young woman finds life difficult. Her partner cannot understand her fragile state, making a tragic outcome inevitable."

"I have seen some of the best international film festivals abroad and cinema is one of the powerful mediums all over the world. It has a great fan following. People in Europe stand in queues to watch foreign movies. I saw some of the best films in the world at the festivals."

Ms. Lapinskaite studied film direction at the Music Academy of Lithuania during 1970-75 and started to work for Lithuanian Television. After directing programmes for the youth and rural people, she worked on documentaries. Her works too have won awards.

Ms. Lapinskaite has developed a liking for the Chennai beach and South Indian food, though not for the traffic.

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