City Vilnius Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Neringa Kažukauskaite The second season of the German TV series “Sisi,” which follows the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (also known as Sisi), is currently shooting in Lithuania, Film New Europe reports.The series is produced by Story House Pictures GmbH for RTL+ and serviced by the Lithuanian company UAB Nordic Productions. The shoot is benefiting from Lithuanian Film Center’s tax incentives.The six-part second season is directed by Sven Bohse (“Dark Woods”) and Miguel Alexandre (“Spy City”), and it is written by Elena Hell, Svenja Rasocha, Robert Krause and Andreas Gutzeit.More than 100 Lithuanians are part of the international team, including production designer Algirdas Garbačiauskas and costume designer Daiva Petrulytė.

Rammstein have issued a statement following the accusations raised against frontman Till Lindemann, who was dropped from his book publisher after being accused of drink spiking and sexual misconduct.The allegations against the German singer-songwriter first arose last month, when a fan took to social media claiming to have been spiked at a pre-show party.As reported by Loudwire, the accusations came from a Reddit user going by the name of Shelby69666, who uploaded a now-deleted post titled “Fuck Rammstein” that showed a photo of a large bruise with the caption “Spiked, no idea when this happened.”According to the report, she had attended the band’s concert in Vilnius the day before and was invited to a pre-party by a crew member. After numerous threads related to the initial update were deleted from Reddit due to them being considered hearsay, an account with a Shelby69666 username appeared on Twitter, elaborating on the allegations.Here the user explained that she had contacted a crew member who allegedly recruits women to stand in the front row at Rammstein concerts, and was later escorted with a group of women to “Row 0” — a pre-party where she was allegedly spiked and shouted at by the frontman when she said she didn’t want to have sex with him.After returning to “Row 0”, she claimed to have vague memories of attending an afterparty, vomiting in a bathroom and returning to her hotel room.

Rammstein have denied all allegations against frontman Till Lindemann regarding him spiking a fan’s drink at a concert pre-party.The band released a statement on their official Twitter page in both German and English, addressing the recent spiking claims against the frontman stating: “With regard to the allegations circulating on the internet about Vilnius, we can rule out the possibility that what is being claimed took place in our environment. We are not aware of any official investigations into this matter.”As Loudwire reports, a Reddit user by the name of Shelby69666 uploaded a now-deleted post titled “Fuck Rammstein” on May 23 that featured a photo of a large bruise with the caption, “Spiked, no idea when this happened.”With regard to the allegations circulating on the internet about Vilnius, we can rule out the possibility that what is being claimed took place in our environment.We are not aware of any official investigations into this matter.— Rammstein (@RSprachrohr) May 28, 2023She had attended the band’s concert in Vilnius the day prior and was apparently invited to a pre-party by a member of their crew.

Jennie Punter The Changing Face of Europe, which is presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with Hot Docs, returns to Toronto with the sixth edition of its festival-within-a-festival program—nine features and one mid-length film—exploring themes around identity, belonging and struggle. “Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful programs in the lineup, and also an essential component of our festival programming,” Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith told Variety in advance of the festival. “Europe has a rich history of and strong connection to the art of documentary filmmaking,” he said. “We are delighted to showcase the powerful work coming out of the continent that sheds light on crucial issues facing Europeans today.”

Nick Holdsworth Breaking into the world of filmmaking is never an easy prospect.   And when you are a queer filmmaker who wants to focus on LGBTQ subjects, and lives in a traditional, Catholic, former Soviet Eastern European country, the bar to success is set pretty high.  Romas Zabarauskas’ career proves that with grit, determination — and, as he says, “no bitterness” — it is possible to create your own path on the international stage.  The 32-year-old producer and director — currently in production of his first English-language feature, “The Writer,” the second in a trilogy of films examining gay relationships — says being in the public spotlight as a queer filmmaker is a “complex issue.” 

Rammstein have announced plans for a European stadium tour next year.The band will hit the road on May 22, 2023 kicking off at Vingio Parkas in Lithuania before moving on to dates in Germany, Spain, Holland and France. They will wrap up their mammoth jaunt at the King Baudouin Stadium in Belgium on August 4.Tickets for the shows go on sale next Thursday (September 8) at 10am local time and can be purchased here.The latest announcement comes as the band continue their US tour in Chicago tomorrow (September 3) before wrapping up in Mexico in October.

Neringa Kažukauskaite Lithuanian director Ignas Miškinis is in production with his coming-of-age drama “Southern Chronicles” (Pietinia kronikas). The film is produced by Lukas Trimonis through In Script with support from the Lithuanian Film Center and the national broadcaster LRT, Film New Europe reports.“Southern Chronicles” is based on Rimantas Kmita’s novel of the same title.

Neringa Kažukauskaite Pay TV company Sky’s drama-documentary series “The Royal Mob,” directed by Fraser McDonald, is shooting in Lithuania. The show tells the saga of an extended royal family that once ruled large parts of Europe, and how their loves, marriages and feuds triggered World War I, Film New Europe reports.

Charlie Amter As the war in Ukraine rages on, recently marking a grim 100-day milestone, some of the country’s music stars are banding together to raise funds abroad in an effort to aid their countrymen, and women, still fighting in the east of the now war-torn nation.Ivan Dorn, one of Ukraine’s most eclectic and best-known music names, just finished a string of European tour dates and he now will be joined by Ukrainian artists The Hardkiss, ONUKA, and Artem Pivovarov in a small American “Stand Up For Ukraine” tour this summer. The trek is set to begin in Miami later this month, with shows to follow next month in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.For Dorn, the gigs are a chance to play for Ukrainian fans currently living in the United States, as well as for liberal Russian expatriates and curious Americans who are sympathetic to Ukraine’s current predicament.

Marta Balaga Ukrainian industry players gathered in Cannes are determined to show they can provide a variety of new content, as well as stories that look beyond the current Russian invasion.“I have been repeating this since 2014 — it’s a trap to be only associated with war,” says producer Julia Sinkevych, now behind Marysia Nikitiuk’s upcoming feature “Lucky Girl.”Presented at the Cannes Market as part of the Ukrainian Features Preview, it shows a successful TV star who has everything, until she is diagnosed with cancer.As noted by Ukrainian Institute’s Natalie Movshovych, several projects focus on the 1990s, including “When We Were 15” — awarded at Meeting Point Vilnius in April — “Do You Love Me?” by Tonia Noyabriova, Philip Sotnychenko’s “Lapalissade” and “Rock. Paper.

Sonic Youth have shared a live album on their Bandcamp, featuring a set recorded in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 14, 1989.Following the release of ‘Daydream Nation’ in 1988, the band performed for the first time in Kyiv when it was still part of the USSR, with other dates in Vilnius, Leningrad and Moscow.According to a statement on their Bandcamp, “This revisiting of the April 14 set honors that nation’s spirit…and timestamps a moment where new ears got transported for a first time.”All proceeds from the live album will benefit World Central Kitchen, which has been providing meals in liberated Ukrainian cities.One of the attendees of the gig was Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, who said: “That SY Kyiv show was life changing for all musicians that were there… we were already attuned to Nick Cave, Einsturzende Neubauten, S Pistols and Discharge but these were the new vitamins we needed.“I made a decision to experience NY right there. Plus my friends VV were opening so i got in free.

Vladimir Putin once warned that he could have Russian troops in six capital cities in just 48 hours, it is claimed.

The head of an international film festival in Lithuania has expressed support for the proposed boycott of Russian cinema, despite the majority of major fests declining to join the movement.

Marta Balaga Detailing Lithuania’s attempts to break away from the Soviet Union, from protests in 1989 to Vilnius’ Bloody Sunday in 1991, when Soviet troops attempted to stage a coup, Sergei Loznitsa became interested in the man in the midst of it all: Vytautas Landsbergis, the first Head of Parliament of Lithuania after its independence declaration.“I started this project with a simple question: ‘Why nobody in Lithuania filmed him before?’ He is such a great man, great storyteller,” says the

Christopher Vourlias When U.K.-based Camelot Films’ “Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher” was forced to relocate to Lithuania earlier this year, after the film’s Welsh financing fell through, executive producer Kestutis Drazdauskas knew the first challenge facing director Daniel Graham’s period drama would be re-creating 19th century England in 21st century Vilnius.“It was an extensive set construction for us, because locations for us are minimal that could play as that period in England and

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLily Cole (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), Rebecca Calder (“I May Destroy You”), Maeve Dermody (“The Beast Must Die”) and Catherine Chalk (“Hereafter”) have joined the cast of “Hilma,” Lasse Hallström’s English-language biopic of the revolutionary Swedish artist and feminist pioneer Hilma af Klint.As previously announced, Lena Olin (“Enemies”) and Tora Hallström will play Klint at different ages of her life.Now shooting in Stockholm and Vilnius (first still

Christopher Vourlias For three small nations tucked away in a far corner of Northeastern Europe, wedged between the sprawling tundra of Scandinavia to the north and the lumbering bear of Russia in the east, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have long realized their strength in numbers: In 1989, amid mass protests calling for independence from the Soviet Union, half a million people joined hands in a human chain stretching from Tallinn to Vilnius.

The Key Buyers Event: Digital, a film and TV market held in Russia, will return for a third edition in 2021. The event showcases new audiovisual content from the country and highlights emerging talent.

By Elsa Keslassy