September 11–14, Klaipėda’s streets will be filled with vibrant colors, unusual heroes, and stories – the animation and video game festival BLON returns to the seaside. The eleventh edition of the festival will open doors for four days to a world inhabited by the boldest narratives, most inventive creators, and most unexpected visual discoveries.

The eleventh edition of BLON is already underway – the only festival in the Baltic States bringing together video game, digital art, and animation creators and their admirers. The program features internationally acclaimed feature-length and short animated films, five competitive animation programs, an engaging international virtual reality exhibition, and the “Aware Game Awards” video game competition.

Entering its second decade, this year’s festival expands horizons – presenting a significantly enlarged program, beginning new partnerships, and taking place in Palanga for the first time.

Growing Animation Program

This year, BLON presents five competitive animation programs – the program is supplemented by international and young viewers’ competitive programs.

“Organizing competitive programs is a complex and demanding process, while also being a huge responsibility towards creators, viewers, and the festival itself. We have been striving to include both international and youth programs for some time, but we weren’t ready for it before. This year we are taking an important step in the festival’s development path and presenting exactly those programs that, in my opinion, are essential for an international festival,” says Laura Almantaitė, BLON festival director.

The young viewers’ competitive program is designed for children and teenagers, and the films will be evaluated by a special commission of Klaipėda students: “We will involve the young audience not only as viewers but also as participants – this way we aim to nurture future creators, critics, or simply curious people,” adds L. Almantaitė.

During the festival, a special program for families and children is presented – special film screenings and creative animation workshops are organized.

The competitive animation program will be accompanied by full-length animated films and two special programs – the Taiwanese-curated “Restless States” and “Southern European Voices,” presenting the most impressive animation from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus. The festival will also gift several free cinema sessions to Klaipėda residents and visitors.

“We want to show films that are not only interesting but also relevant, sensitive, and truly worth seeing. It’s important to us that animation is not only aesthetically beautiful but also meaningful – that it speaks about what unites us, what we experience quietly or loudly. I believe that every viewer will find something close to them in our program,” says Svetlana Bezuglova, festival program director.

The festival also presents an extensive video game industry program. Festival visitors are invited to various discussions, seminars, creative workshops, and meetings with foreign and Lithuanian creators, where they can network and gain experience for future projects. These events are free for students and schoolchildren.

“This year the festival has received tremendous interest from both animation and game creators. For the first time, all directors of films participating in the Lithuanian films competitive program are coming to the festival. Guests – film and game creators, curators – are coming from various corners of the world: USA, Taiwan, Canada, China, Georgia, as well as many European countries. We feel a truly global festival atmosphere, which is very exciting,” says festival director L. Almantaitė.

Games That Change Perspectives

Those who don’t want to be just observers of stories are invited by BLON to visit the “Aware Game Awards” competition exhibition at the cultural and meeting space “Herkus Kantas.” There you will find more than 10 games, each exploring different issues.

“The goal we set for ourselves when curating the program is otherness and accessibility,” says Artūras Rumiancevas, one of the exhibition curators. “We strive for games to explore problems that are unusual for games, but not only that. We look for easily understandable experiences accessible to a wide audience that are not subject to traditional gaming genetics. Usually games are inseparable from competition and goal achievement – that’s the main reason why we play them. In our program, we reject this idea and offer gameplay that may not provide dopamine, but experiencing it will make you emotionally richer.”

In this year’s program, players will be able to become part of civic protests in the Czech Republic, newly discover the city of Kutaisi in Georgia, witnessing its relationship with art and art history. Those seeking simpler sensations will be able to empathize with the role of a tree, ruin a date for an unsuspecting couple, or become a wolf policeman and fight with an inner beast. Most of the event’s games are easy to understand and experience – you can try them out and comprehend them in a relatively short time.

First Date with Palanga Audience

This year the festival expands beyond Klaipėda’s borders – it will take place in Palanga for the first time. Full-length films for children will be shown there, competitive programs of Lithuanian creators and young viewers’ animations will be presented, as well as the special animation program “Southern European Voices,” and meetings with filmmakers will take place.

“We are very happy about this step – we want animation to reach more people and not be limited to just one place or hall. For the first acquaintance with the Palanga audience, we have prepared a diverse, open, and warm program that would encourage not only watching but also communicating with creators and trying new experiences themselves,” says Svetlana Bezuglova, BLON festival program director.

In addition to animated films, festival visitors in Palanga will be able to try virtual reality experiences.

September 11–14, festival events will take place in different Klaipėda spaces: the creative industries incubator “Culture Factory,” the culture and meeting place “Herkus Kantas,” the “Arlekinas” cinema, Klaipėda Puppet Theatre, and the Pranas Domšaitis Gallery will open its doors for virtual reality experiences.

Tickets for festival events can be purchased on the festival website https://blon.lt. Until September 1, they are sold at a discount.

The festival is funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Klaipėda City Municipality, and the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The program in Palanga is partially funded by Palanga City Municipality.

More information:
Justina Polikaitytė
+370 618 29792
justina@blon.lt