On prom night, graduate Inga discovers that her boyfriend Kęstas is secretly helping a young stranger. As the night unfolds, the youth begins to sense that while they’re celebrating new beginnings, someone is searching for their own path into the future. Year of production 2026 Length 14' Country Lithuania Shooting FormatDigital, 2K Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Dialogue Lithuanian
Directors Simona Jurkuvėnaitė and Rytis Dringelis ProductionM-Films Producer Morta Verbickaitė Executive Producers Marija Razgutė, Brigita Beniušytė Writers Simona Jurkuvėnaitė and Rytis Dringelis Director of PhotographyNojus Drąsutis Editor Antanas Skridaila Production DesignerAugustė Kunevičiūtė Sound Designer Rūta Pašukonytė Costume Designer Akvilė Klimavičiūtė Make-Up Artist Eglė Ulevičiūtė Composer Bartas Česnavičius Cast Martynas Berulis, Digna Kulionytė, Shreya Kontrimaitė, Orestas Streikus, Gabija Bargailaitė Festival selections Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026, UK - World Premiere Batumi International Art-House Film Festival 2026, Georgia Directors' Statement Our short film SURPLACE is about the moment of transition between endings and beginnings. The title refers to standing still, remaining in one place. It reflects the feeling of being unable to move forward while being confronted with realities that are difficult to accept. The film explores a choice: whether to go away and continue celebrating, or to stop and face the reality that exists beside us? Observing ongoing events at Lithuania’s border we began searching for answers in our recent history. We searched for traces of the past not only in historical records, but also in personal memories, landscapes, and the questions that continue to resonate today. As young filmmakers we were interested in finding a universal way to tell this story through the perspective of a young person to create a narrative that feels alive. The foreground tells one story, while the background reveals a wider context of the things that are often easy to overlook. This journey is about learning to notice the Other, to recognize their experience, and to realize that our choices affect those around us.
