CONCRETE KIDS
by Saulius Baradinskas

20min | Lithuania | 2026

Concrete Kids – is a short film about kids who grew up in the courtyards of the Soviet apartment district of Lithuania, who lacked the attention and love of their parents, who tried to survive and free themselves from the violence in the streets every single day.

Original Title Betono vaikai
​Year of production 2026
Length 20'
Country Lithuania
Shooting Format Digital
Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Dialogue Lithuanian

Director Saulius Baradinskas
Production Company Viktoria Films
Producer Viktorija Seniut-Stroliene
Writer Saulius Baradinskas
Director of Photography Narvydas Naujalis
Editor Karolis Labutis
Production Designer Daumantas Levickas
Sound Design Mindaugas Smega
Composer Andrea Boccadoro
Cast Domantas Starkauskas, Kasparas Varanavicius, Arunas Sakalauskas, Kestutis Cicenas, Agne Sataite, Algirdas Galkus
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Festival selections
International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2026, Netherlands​ - World Premiere
“Kino Pavasaris” Vilnius International Film Festival 2026, Lithuania
​Curta Cinema - Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival 2026, Brazil
​Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS 2026, Latvia - Emerging Critics' Choice Award and Best Baltic Short Film Award
Brussels Short Film Festival 2026, Belgium
​Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026, Japan
​​Golden Grape International Short Film Festival 2026, Georgia
​Milano Film Fest 2026, Italy - Special Mention
​Kino Otok International Film Festival 2026, Slovenia
​​FEST - New Directors/New Films Festival 2026, Portugal
​Palm Springs International ShortFest 2026, USA - Special Mention
​Bašta Fest 2026, Serbia
Guanajuato International Film Festival 2026, Mexico
​Copenhagen Headliner Film Festival 2025, Denmark 
HollyShorts Film Festival 2026, USA
​Curta Kinoforum - São Paulo International Short Film Festival 2026, Brazil
​Vicoli Corti Festival 2026, Italy
Odense International Film Festival 2026, Denmark
​
​Director's Statement
I still remember the fear of walking home in the late 90s — it wasn’t really walking, it was surviving the block. Street fights, random teenage gang threats, and chaos were part of everyday life. It felt like the Wild West and East.
That environment shaped me as an artist. Concrete Kids tells the story of Rokas, a teenager trying to escape the block by singing in a choir. But music — his only strength and lifeline — also becomes his biggest danger. In his neighborhood, he is hunted by local gangs who want revenge for his being labeled
​a “snitch.”
In this film, I look at violence through the lens of a musical. Within the harsh social-realist world, creating a magical realism through brutality around Rokas. Following the growing rhythm of Ravel’s Bolero, Rokas faces the essential question: will he choose to sing, or will he answer violence with violence?
Concrete Kids is a magical-realist musical drama about children who never learned to play in the playground — because they had to learn how to survive. These are the true Concrete Kids.

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