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- Kaz Garas was born on 4 March 1940 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is an actor, known for Mean Creek (2004), Strange Report (1969) and Most Wanted (1976).
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
With eye-catching good looks, blond Lithuanian-born actor Jacques Sernas (aka Jack Sernas) is best known for cutting a fine figure in European costumers and spectacles in the 1950s and 1960s. Born on July 30, 1925, his father died when he was a year old and the boy would be raised by his mother in Paris. After schooling there he joined up as a French Resistance fighter during W.W.II. Captured by German forces and imprisoned for over a year in Buchenwald, he was eventually freed.
Sernas originally studied medicine in the early postwar years but acting soon caught his fancy. He made an unbilled movie debut in the French film Miroir (1947) starring Jean Gabin. In the years to come Italian/European action films would dominate his screen time. Audience attention grew in proportion with a variety of comedies, dramas, costumers and adventures including Lost Youth (1948) [Lost Youth]; Stolen Affections (1948) [Stolen Affections]; Il falco rosso (1949) [The Red Falcon] in which he played the title role; Bluebeard (1951); the costumed romancer Anita Garibaldi (1952) [Anita Garibaldi]; and Lulù (1953) co-starring with Valentina Cortese.
The actor hit major international attention after being cast as Paris opposite sex sirens Rossana Podestà and Brigitte Bardot in Helen of Troy (1956) and Hollywood itself took brief notice, handing him a starring role in the Warner Bros. war film Jump Into Hell (1955) and a few TV guest parts. When nothing came of it, he returned to Italy and was for the most part relegated to supporting characters, making one lasting impression as a fading matinée idol in Fellini's masterpiece La Dolce Vita (1960).
Other Italian/European films in and around this decade included Goddess of Love (1957) co-starring Belinda Lee; The Nights of Lucretia Borgia (1959); Duel of Champions (1961) starring Alan Ladd; The Centurion (1961) in which he co-starred with John Drew Barrymore; Duel of the Titans (1961) starring musclemen Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott; 55 Days at Peking (1963) starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, which filmed in Spain; The Secret Agents (1965) [aka The Dirty Game] starring Henry Fonda, which filmed in Germany; the "spaghetti western" Fort Yuma Gold (1966), Midas Run (1969) starring Fred Astaire and Richard Crenna, which filmed in Italy and England; and the Italian/US co-production Hornets' Nest (1970), a war drama starring Rock Hudson.
As the years rolled by Sernas was seen less and less on film and more and more on Italian TV. Into the millennium he appeared in a few elderly roles, one being a 2003 TV movie about Pope John XXIII. Jacques died at age 89 on July 3, 2015 in Rome.- Donatas Banionis was a popular Lithuanian actor known for Nobody Wanted to Die (1965), Myortvyy sezon (1968), and Solaris (1972).
He was born Donatas Juozas Banionis on April 28, 1924, in Kaunas, Lithuania. His mother, Blazhaitite-Banionene Ona, was a homemaker. His father, Juozas Banionis, was a tailor who took part in the Russian Revolution of 1917, was wounded in the Russian Civil War, then became a political prisoner, and briefly emigrated to Brasil during the 1920s. Young Banionis was raised with his elder sister during the years of Lithuanian independence before WWII.
In 1941 Donatas Banionis was hired by the famous Lithuanian theatrical director Juozas Miltinis and became an actor at the newly formed Panevezys Drama Theatre. He studied acting under Juozas Miltinis and graduated from the Panevezys Acting Studio in 1945. In 1947 Banionis made his film debut: he appeared in a cameo role in 'Marite' (1947). His first major film work was the role of adventurer Daus in 'Adomas nori buti zmogumi' (Adam Wants to Be a Man 1959) by director Vytautas Zalakevicius.
Long before becoming an acclaimed actor Banionis tried to escape from the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War; but he failed to join his Lithuanian compatriots when they fled the Soviets. Soon the Iron curtain became impenetrable from either side. However, in 1970, as a member of an official Soviet delegation, he made his first visit to the Lithuanian community in Chicago. Then Banionis, being already a famous actor, came to realize that his former compatriots earned their good living and nice homes by working very hard from very poor beginnings. At that time, Banionis enjoyed a highly privileged life as a top film-star in the Soviet Union. He was awarded the State Prize in 1975, and was received by such Soviet leaders as Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Banionis earned critical acclaim for his role of Vaitkus in 'Niekas nenorejo mirti' (Nobody Wanted to Die, 1966) by director Vytautas Zalakevicius. A powerful film, it was even dubbed the "Lithuanian Seven Samurai." Banionis' tragical character Vaitkus is the undecided one among the Lithuanian "brothers in the woods", who are fighting against the Soviets after the end of the Second World War. Banionis demonstrated his range as a comedian in the comic role of a priest in 'Beregis avtomobilya' (Watch Out for the Automobile, 1966) by director Eldar Ryazanov. Banionis' sweet character blends well with the stellar ensemble of actors, such as Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Efremov, Andrey Mironov, Anatoliy Papanov, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Georgi Zhzhyonov, and other Russian film stars.
Donatas Banionis is a refined intellectual actor with effortless style. His mastery of timing, his powerful silence, and his reserved energy shines in his major film-works; such as in 'King Lear' (1969) by Grigoriy Kozintsev, in 'Solaris' (1972) by Andrei Tarkovsky, in 'Goya - oder Der arge Weg der Erkenntnis' (1971) by director Konrad Wolf, in 'Begstvo mistera Mak-Kinli' by director Mikhail Shvejtser, in 'Beethoven - Days in a Life' (1976) by director Horst Seemann, and in other films.
One of his memorable film-works is the character of a Russian spy 'Ladeinikov' in 'Myortvy Sezon' (The Dead Season, 1968) by director Savva Kulish. That film role provided Banionis with an auspicious connection. In 2004, the actor had a meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin confirmed that he made up his mind to become an intelligence officer after seeing Banionis in the role of a Russian spy.
In his later works Donatas Banionis constitutes the link between cinema of the past and contemporary Lithuanian film. He showed reserved and convincing work in the role of 'The old man' in 'Kiemas' (Courtyard, 1999), a reflective film about a Lithuanian father and his family's depressing fate in the 1970's Soviet Union. He worked with director Aleksandr Buravskiy in 'Attack on Leningrad' (2006), a film about the historic siege during the Second World War; where his acting partners are Gabriel Byrne, Mira Sorvino, Aleksandr Abdulov, Kirill Lavrov, Mikhail Efremov and others.
During his acting career spanning over sixty five years, Donatas Banionis played over 50 roles in film and on television. He also played over 100 stage roles, mainly at the Panevezys Juozas Miltinis' Drama Theatre. Banionis was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1974), and People's actor of the Lithuanian Republic (1973). He is Chevalier of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
Donatas Banionis lived in the city of Panevezys, Lithuania. He was Honorable Citizen of Panevezys (1999). Actor died of heart related problems on 4th of September 2014 in Panevezys, Lithuania. He was ninety years old. - Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
- Editor
Born on August 29, 1990 in Kaunas, Lithuania. Vilius Petrikas is Producer, Editor and Director based Reykjavik Iceland. He has worked in the industry for the last decade, in various jobs mainly Production, Editing, Directing and Aerial Photography. Recently Vilius was nominated for his aerial work on Ocean Treks at the 2018 Daytime Emmy Awards.- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Saule Bliuvaite was born in 1994 in Kaunas, Lithuania. She is a writer and director, known for Toxic (2024), Limousine (2021) and The Contest (2019).- Actress
- Producer
Born in Lithuania and getting her start in music, Egle Petraite grew up in Maryland, USA, where she began acting in theater and film, which later took her to New York City. She went on to study at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, New York, and received her BFA from Adelphi University. Egle continues to work in the realms of film/TV, theatre and music, and can be seen in Camp, Fishbowl, The Daughter, among others.- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Allan A. Buckhantz was born on 3 January 1923 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was a director and producer, known for Intercontinental Express (1964), Portrait of a Hitman (1979) and Willy (1962). He was married to Ingeborg Wiese, Susanne Cramer and Suzanne Lloyd. He died on 10 October 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
Sol Horwitz was born on 4 November 1872 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He was an actor. He was married to Jennie Horwitz. He died on 19 December 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Casting Director
- Actor
- Producer
Donatas Simukauskas is an Eastern European actor. He was schooled in acting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The breakthrough role of Donatas' career was in a cult Lithuanian comedy "Zero: Alyvine Lietuva" in 2006 where he played a corrupt police officer. After that came numerous roles in local and international productions such as "Die Flucht/March of Millions" directed by Kai Wessel, TV mini-series "War &Peace" by Robert Dornhelm starring Clemence Poesy and Malcolm McDowel, Japanese TV series "Clouds Over the Hill". Among the highlights of Donatas' career there are roles in feature films "The Crown Jewels" directed by Ella Lemhagen starring Alicia Vikander and Bill Skarsgard, "Gitel" directed by Robert Mullan where Donatas played Rabbi Ozerovski and a Lithuanian blockbusters "Zero II" and "Redirected" where Donatas astablished himself as a prominent comedy actor. His most recent work include Swedish TV series "Moscow Noir" by Mikael Håfström, Johan Brisinger and Mårten Klingberg in 2018 and "Kalifat" in 2020 and a feature film "Sasha Was Here" nominated for Best First Feature in Tallin Black Nights Festival in 2018 and Golden Duke in Odessa International Film Festival in 2019.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Vytautas Zalakevicius was a notable Lithuanian director, best known for his film Nobody Wanted to Die (1965).
He was born Vytautas Prano Zalakevicius on April 14, 1930, in Kaunas, Lithuania. From 1948-1950 he studied to become an engineer at the Kaunas State University. He then went to Moscow and studied directing at the Soviet State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). His teachers were Mikheil Chiaureli and Grigoriy Aleksandrov. Zalakevivius was able to develop his own highly original style during the political changes in the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. At that time many intellectuals expressed their new ideas, because Nikita Khrushchev initiated the policy of openness and de-Stalinization known as the Khrushchev's Thaw. Zalakevicius graduated from VGIK in 1956 as director, making his first short film 'Skenduolis' (Drowned 1956) as his graduation work.
His first independent full-length feature film was 'Adomas nori buti zmogumi' (Adam Wants to Be a Man 1959). It immediately became a sensation. Zalakevicius demonstrated his experimental approach as a writer-director and achieved an uncommon result. His work with such actors, as Donatas Banionis and Juozas Miltinis brought him his first big success. His best known film was 'Niekas nenorejo mirti' (Nobody Wanted to Die 1965) starring Donatas Banionis, Regimantas Adomaitis, Vija Artmane, Juozas Budraitis, Algimantas Masiulis and other Lithuanian actors. Zalakevicius made a powerful film, it was even dubbed the "Lithuanian Seven Samurai." It shows dramatic events in a small Lithuanian farming community, where people are split between the Soviets and the "brothers in the woods", who are fighting to defend their land from the Soviets after the end of the Second World War.
Zalakevicius was the winner of the 1973 Gold Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival for 'Eto sladkoe slovo: Svoboda!' (That Sweet Word: Liberty! 1973). But the film caused a mixed reaction, being just a mere political propaganda of the Chilean revolution. From 1974-1980, Zalakevicius worked at the Mosfilm Studios in Moscow. His Moscow period was less productive and he eventually returned to Lithuania. During the 1980s and 1990s, Zalakevicius was up to the challenges of the unstable and turbulent years during and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His later career was devoted to establishing of the newly independent Lithuanian film industry. His last work was a screenplay for 'Elze's Life' (2000), a period film about the history of Lithuanian and German relationship, directed by his student, Algimantas Puipa. It was an artistic effort of reconciliation with the national identity, and partition from the Soviet past. Zalakevicius was one of the most provocative and controversial figures in the Lithuanian film. He usually wrote the screenplays for most of his films. He occasionally did television work as well.
Vytautas Zalakevicius was honored with titles of People's Artist of the Lithuanian Republic (1981) and People's Artist of Russia (1980). He was artistic Director of Lithuanian Film Studio, and Vice-Chairman of the Lithuanian State Committee for Cinematography. He also taught film directing in Moscow and in Vilnius, and several of his students became established filmmakers. Vytautas Zalakevicius was married to Russian actress Irina Miroshnichenko. He died of natural causes on November 12, 1996, in Vilnius, and was laid to rest in Vilnius, Luthuania.- Gustaw Lutkiewicz was born on 29 June 1924 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was an actor, known for Lawa. Opowiesc o 'Dziadach' Adama Mickiewicza (1989), Rdza (1982) and Kuchnia polska (1993). He was married to Wieslawa Mazurkiewicz. He died on 24 February 2017 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Director
- Writer
- Production Designer
Arunas Zebriunas was born on 8 August 1931 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was a director and writer, known for The Girl and the Echo (1964), Devil's Bride (1974) and Chas polnoluniya (1988). He was married to Giedre Kaukaite. He died on 9 September 2013 in Vilnius, Lithuania.- Actor
- Director
Andrius Ziurauskas was born on 7 April 1976 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He is an actor and director, known for Redirected (2014), Kaip susigrazinti ja per 7 dienas (2017) and Moterys meluoja geriau. Robertelis (2018).- Jesse De Vorska was born on 13 July 1898 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He was an actor, known for The Spider (1931), Around the Corner (1930) and The Last Parade (1931). He died on 27 December 1999 in Westwood, California, USA.
- Valentinas Masalskis was born on 11 April 1954 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Lithuania]. He is an actor, known for The Noisemaker (2014), Dievu miskas (2005) and Nova Lituania (2019).
- Edita Vilkeviciute was born on 1 January 1989 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Persona (2013), Life + Times: Empire State of Mind (2011) and Versus Versace by Anthony Vaccarello: Spring Summer 2015 New York (2014). She has been married to Björn Frederic Gerling since July 2017.
- Tautvydas Krilavicius was born on 14 July 1995 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is an actor, known for Buciuoju, Juozas (2023) and Ne Tau Martyna (2024).
- Wladyslaw Komar was born on 11 April 1940 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was an actor, known for Przylbice i kaptury (1986), Pirates (1986) and Blood of the Innocent (1994). He died on 17 August 1998 in Przybiernów, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland.
- Jonas Navickas was born on 3 May 1987 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is a writer and director, known for Kaip susigrazinti ja per 7 dienas (2017), Vienas Aras (2024) and Gautas Iskvietimas (2016).
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Domas Vilcinskas was born on 17 May 1993 in Kaunas, Lithuania. Domas is a director and writer, known for Redirected (2014), Issivalymas (2022) and Endex (2019).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Marijonas Giedrys was born on 16 March 1933 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He was a director and writer, known for Gyvieji didvyriai (1959), Perskeltas dangus (1974) and Nesetu rugiu zydejimas (1979). He died on 24 May 2011 in Vilnius, Lithuania.- Emma Goldman was born on 27 June 1869 in Kovno, Russian Empire [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. She was a writer, known for Good Enough for the People (2011). She died on 14 May 1940 in Toronto, Canada.
- Writer
- Director
- Music Department
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-American artist, known as a founding member of the Fluxus community of artists, architects, writers, musicians, and designers. His main goals were simplicity and fun.
He was born Jurgis Maciunas in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Novmber 8, 1931, to a Lithuanian father and Ukrainian mother. He escaped the Soviet occupation by moving to America. There he studied architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. Eventually he developed several loft buildings for artists in SoHo, New York City, and a farm in Massachussetts. However, real estate business was not his calling, and he expressed himself in various artistic initiatives. Maciunas was a master of public-shunning activities, like dressing as dentists with his friends, and using tooth brushes to clean the sidewalk near the Plaza Hotel in New York.
Maciunas was co-founder of the experimental art association, that he called Fluxus. He assembled a loose, non-hierarchical gathering of innovative artists, architects, writers, composers, and designers around the World. Their performances blended different artistic disciplines, visual arts, music, and literature. In 1960 Maciunas started an art gallery at 925 Madison Avenue in New York that became a meeting place for the Fluxus people. They used a wide combination of influences from Dadaists and Marcel Duchamp to John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Nam June Paik, and Futurists.
Fluxus focused on the artist's personality and individual actions instead of the traditional "professionalism." Influenced by the "prepared piano" idea of John Cage, Maciunas invented "prepared sports," multi-bike vehicle, funny food events, and "humorous dances" on sticky floor. Fluxus main ideas were loosely formulated as internationalism, experimentalism, inter-media, play or gags, minimalism and ephemeriality. Early Fluxus events took place in New York in 1960-62.
In 1962 the first Fluxus festival was held in Wiesbaden, Germany, with performances by Maciunas, Dick Higgins, Nam June Paik, Alison Knowles, Emmett Williams and others. In 1963, at the Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf Beuys and Maciunas first appeared in Fluxus actions playing pianos as part of improvised performance. More Fluxus festivals (also called "Free expression festivals") were held in the 1960s in Europe, in the 1970s in Seattle, and in the 1980s in various US and European cities. In the late 1970s and 1980s the Russian underground performing artists Sergei Kuryokhin and Boris Grebenshchikov were experimenting with the Fluxus ideas in their happening shows. Eventually a Fluxus-style community of free artists was founded in a abandoned building at Pushkinskaya 10 in St. Petersburg.
Since the 1960s, Maciunas pioneered the revival of artistic communities in SoHo by converting several rundown buildings into artist's lofts and studios. At that time Maciunas assembled an highly diverse community of creative people who shared their innovative artistic ideas. Maciunas embraced many unknown artists and helped to advance their careers. Maciunas and the Fluxus movement attracted young Japanese artist Yoko Ono. She and Maciunas became close friends. In 1970s George Maciunas was invited by Yoko Ono to paint and decorate the John Lennon apartment in the "Dakota" Building in New York City.
His ideas attracted and influenced many artists around the World, such as Yoko Ono, John Lennon, John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Nam June Paik, La Monte Young, Eric Andersen, Yasunao Tone, Ben Vautier, Ben Patterson, George Brecht, Alison Knowles, Philip Corner, Wolf Vostell, Geoffrey Hendricks, Joseph Beuys among many others. Maciunas's Fluxus Manifesto declared "opposition to the bourgeois sickness and commercialized culture." He also initiated mail-art and free networking of mail-artists in 60s, that eventually developed into Internet networking.
In 1978 Maciunas married his girlfriend, Billie Hutching, in a performance piece called "The Fluxwedding" where the bride and the groom traded clothing. Three months later, George Maciunas died of pancreatic cancer, on May 9, 1978, in a Boston hospital, surrounded by his Fluxus friends. That same year, Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys gave a performance "In Memoriam George Maciunas" at the Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf where Beuys and Maciunas first appeared in Fluxus actions. The concert lasted 74 minutes - Maciunas died aged 47.
Fluxus artists continue to meet in cities around the world as well as in cyberspace. In 2005 an oratorio loosely based on Maciunas premiered in the Summer Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania. A series of Fluxus-inspired performances were given by LA Art Girls at the Getty Center in Los Angeles in 2006 and 2008.- Kestutis Stasys Jakstas was born on 8 May 1965 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Kaunas, Lithuania]. He is an actor, known for Redirected (2014), Zero 2 (2010) and Rigas sargi (2007).
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Dainius Gavenonis was born on 11 March 1973 in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. He is an actor, known for Artimos sviesos (2009), Perpetuum Mobile (2008) and Poetas (2022).