Cinema for me is…
Lithuania – Martyna Ratnikaitė from Europa Cinemas on Vimeo.
Martyna in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
Martyna means a god of war, but I prefer peaceful protests.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
I’m really enthusiastic and have too many opinions about everything – even about not having an opinion.
3. Your dream job?
An astronaut. Definitely.
4. What do you like most about your country?
Trees. And that everything here is band new and exciting – Lithuania is independent for only 28 years, so it’s still a bit of a lost young adult, who asks too many questions and is very curious about why things are the way they are.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
That crazy pink Lithuanian soup – šaltibarščiai aka cold beetroot soup.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
Pragiedruliai – I love the sound of the word, which means sun coming through the clouds.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
Copenhagen.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Berlin – it’s not a part of Germany, it’s a separate universe, really.
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Europe always reminds me of a peaceful home full freedom mixed with responsibility.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
It took only one character – Forest, Forrest Gump.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Garsas (Sound) – oldest cinema in Lithuania, located in the centre of eerie Panevėžys town – it is that perfect blend of soviet aesthetics, nostalgia and a pinch of independent cinema. Unfortunately, it’s going to be demolished quite soon.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Billy Elliot, a boy who really liked to dance.
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Without a doubt, The Godfather of American Avant-Garde Cinema Jonas Mekas.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
It must be the iconic dance scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp fiction (1994, US) – John Travolta and Uma Thurman showing their best twist moves on the diner’s dance floor, while You can never tell by Chuck Berry is playing in the background.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
Manifesto (Julian Rosefeldt, 2015, DE)
The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015, GR)
Šventasis (The Saint, Andrius Blaževičius, 2016, LT).
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
Matilda, the main character from Danny DeVito’s movie of the same name, who is not only an adorable book worm, but also a tiny witch.
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
Neil Young’s guitar improvisations that make the beautiful soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man (1995, US).
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Most probably Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000, US) – a story about fame, rock n’ roll and wild wild 70’s.
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Buster Keaton gets the role, but as I’m not such a huge fan of silent movies, I let Tom Waits narrate it.
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
Telling great stories.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
Stuffed cat and a painting of my great grandmother.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
There are two things I’m really proud of – travelling to Berlin solo just before my 18th birthday and publishing an article that criticizes Lithuanian education system just before my final exams marathon.
23. What is your motto?
I don’t have one yet, but this Kurt Vonnegut quote is as close as it gets: There’s only one rule that I know of, babies, ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind’.
