Cinematheque

The Cinematheque consists of a physical and a virtual space. These are a library-reading room and film library of cinema and media publications formed by Meno Avilys and located at Goštauto St. 2, Vilnius ( in Planeta), and the website sinemateka.lt, where you can watch Lithuanian films restored by Meno Avilys and curated film programmes, all free of charge.
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The Space

Open to the public, our cinematheque is the only specialized space in Lithuania dedicated to cinema and media. Enter to explore different forms of cinema and media by watching, reading on the spot, or taking the desired publication home. The cinematheque was established on the basis of Jonas Mekas’s collection of publications and at the initiative of Meno Avilys in 2006.

The premises are provided by Vilnius City Municipality.

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Collections and catalogue

The cinematheque collection consists of the most relevant and important publications on cinema and media and a comprehensive archive. The collection is continuously updated with books and periodicals on contemporary processes in cinema and media culture. The archive includes collections donated by film critics, filmmakers, cinema festivals and organisations.

More about the project →

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Information for visitors

Cinema and media space Planeta, A. Gostauto str. 2, Vilnius
info@sinemateka.lt  | +37068328398

Sunday: closed
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 2pm – 7pm
Wednesday: 2pm – 7pm
Thursday: 2pm – 7pm
Friday: 2pm – 7pm
Saturday: 2pm – 7pm

Sinemateka.lt

A virtual cinematheque (www.sinemateka.lt) of restored and digitised Lithuanian documentary films, video art works and curated cinema programmes. The films are accompanied by interviews with the filmmakers and texts explaining the context. The cinematheque website was developed by new-generation cultural and film historians, curators, educators, restorers and archivists. In 2019, the project was awarded as the Best Non-Profit Website at the LOGIN Technology and Innovation Festival Awards.

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Cinematheque Lectures & Discussion

The series of discussions and lectures organised by Meno Avilys goes beyond the academic community, inviting all those interested in moving images to broaden their knowledge together with contemporary film and cultural researchers.

Illustration: a still from Maya Deren’s film Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) in the exhibition Jonas Mekas and the New York Avant-Garde (Lithuanian National Gallery of Art, 2021-2022). Photo by Ugnius Gelguda.

Lectures and discussions →

“eCulture” platform

A unified portal for digitised and digital cultural and audio-visual content, e-services and dissemination.

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Film Digitization and Restoration

We started the film digitization and restoration process in 2012 with the documentary film Earth of the Blind (1992) by director Audrius Stonys, which became the first restored film in the history of Lithuanian cinema. We took the digital turn in cinema seeking to bring back the original form of the films and give them the opportunity to circulate freely in national and international cinema theaters. For this initiative, we have been awarded the Silver Crane Award at the National Film Awards and The Oak Gratitude Award of the Lithuanian Cinematographers’ Association.

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Lithuanian Documentary Anthology

The documentary anthology consists of a collection of digitized and restored DVD films, and a bilingual English-Lithuanian catalogue presenting the most important Lithuanian documentaries from the very origins of auteur documentary in the 1960s to the so-called breakthrough generation of the first decades of independence. The publication was shortlisted for the Best DVD Award at the International Archive Film Festival Il Cinema Ritrovato (Italy).

More about the project →

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