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The 9th Annual New York Baltic Film Festival (NYBFF) presented by Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America returns this November continuing its tradition of bringing the best new films from the Baltic region to New York audiences! Opening Night on Thursday, November 5 will feature the East Coast Premiere of A GOODNIGHT KISS (Irena). Director Giedrė Žickytė present for a film talk and Q&A, which will be followed by an Opening Night reception. The film will re-screen on Saturday, November 7 at 12:00 PM.A GOODNIGHT KISS is an homage to a remarkable woman, Irena Veisaitė, and her unabating spirit. As Irena turns 92 in 2020, birthday greetings pour in for one of Lithuania’s wisest women, much adored in its intellectual and cultural circles. The Nazi occupation cut her childhood short at just age 13, robbing her of her birth mother and imprisoning her in a ghetto. Then came another occupation, by the Soviets, which took away her “second mother,” who had saved her from the Nazis and raised her like one of her own. Yet having survived these horrors of two of the 20th-century’s most brutal totalitarian regimes, Irena came out on the other side, believing in a life free of hatred.
Set in Vilnius, once dubbed the Jerusalem of the North, the film crafts a nuanced portrait of Irena as a testimony to her humanity and courage to live and forgive. Following Irena’s passing later in 2020, Giedrė Žickytė found new ways to tell her story, drawing on unseen testimonies and rare archives such as clandestine photos captured inside a ghetto. Woven into the narrative is music by her lifelong friend, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, who dedicated his acclaimed piano piece "Für Alina" to Irena as a gesture of solace, echoing Irena’s own experience of motherhood and the longing she felt for her daughter Alina during the years they were apart.
In today’s fracturing world, Irena’s wisdom may be the guiding light we need.
𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: https://www.balticfilmfestival.com/box-office-2026
𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗽: https://www.balticfilmfestival.com/2026-in-person-screenings
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𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚
𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: https://go.amscan.org/NYBFF2026
𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁: $50 ($40 ASF Members)
𝗜𝗻-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 ($125/$95 ASF Members) grants access to all in-person screenings at Scandinavia House except the Opening Night.
𝗩𝗜𝗣 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 ($425) grants access to all in-person and virtual screenings, two Opening Night tickets, six additional in-person screening tickets for a guest, an NYBFF mug and a personal acknowledgment on the NYBFF website.
𝟱-𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲 ($65/$45 ASF Members) grants access to five screenings.
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 ($15/$10 ASF Members) *All Films Except Opening Night
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𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠 𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟
Established in 2018, the New York Baltic Film Festival is presented and organized by Scandinavia House in collaboration with the Embassy of Estonia to the U.S., Consulate General of Lithuania in NYC, Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations in New York, and Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Vermont. Generous support has been provided by Edhard Corporation. Other financial support for the festival comes from the Estonian Film Institute, National Film Center of Latvia, and Lithuanian Film Center, with additional sponsorship by the American-Scandinavian Foundation, American Latvian Association, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian American National Council (EKRÜ), World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA), Honorary Consulate General of Latvia in New York, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA).
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