Laguna

Sharunas Bartas

On the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the land Ina Marija had chosen as her home before she died too soon, her father and her younger sister Una embark on a journey retracing her steps. There, amidst the extraordinary and resilient nature of the mangroves — in a laguna battered by hurricanes yet perpetually reborn — they begin to navigate the tender terrain of grief. Sharunas Bartas, directing the film, lays his emotions bare in an act of transmission, allowing for a reconstruction anchored in the natural cycles of life.

Lithuania, France 2025, '102

DIRECTOR: Sharunas Bartas

SCENARIO: Sharunas Bartas, Geoffroy Grison

CAMERA: Lukas Karalius, Alina Lu

MONTAGE: Alina Lu, Lucie Jego

PRODUCERS: Sharunas Bartas, Jurijus Stancikas, Alina Lu, Janja Kralj

PRODUCTION: Studija Kinema, KinoElektron

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

Venice FF
Bangkok IFF
UBA Argentina
PÖFF / Black Nights FF
LEFFEST
Gijon IFF
FIDOCS
TSFF
Artdocfest

Sharunas Bartas

Born in 1964 in Siauliai, Lithuania, Sharunas Bartas graduated from the VGIK film school in Moscow. He founded Studija Kinema in 1989, the first independent film studio in Lithuania. From his very first films, Sharunas Bartas received critical acclaim. Three Days, Korridorius, and Few of Us built a rare and sensitive universe, which Peace to Us in Our Dreams reflects, and which Laguna is a continuation of. The Centre Pompidou dedicated a retrospective to the director, adding to those already organized in Poland, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Portugal and Belgium, among others. Sharunas Bartas directed Back to the Family, premiered at Rotterdam, and Frost and In The Dusk in Cannes, Director’s fortnight and Official selection. Laguna premiered at Giornate degli Autori, Venice.