Screenings
The Baltic Island animation program brings together historically significant and contemporary films that reveal the distinctive character of animation in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. These works showcase a visual tradition with few direct parallels in the European context, defined by strong imagery, poetic thinking, and storytelling that transcends language.
The program presents Baltic animation as a multi-layered art form where historical experience, personal narratives, humor, absurdity, mythology, and social commentary intertwine in a unique cinematic language. Together, the films form a broad yet coherent portrait of the region’s animation: bold, imaginative, and deeply rooted in cultural experience.
Salty
June 1, Monday at 18:30
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Through metaphor, sharp visual language, and humour, Salty explores the absurd, uncomfortable, and sometimes strange aspects of life. These films examine social rituals, routine, vanity, responsibility, collapse, and human confusion through a lens that is both harsh and playful.
An Island for One
June 1, Monday at 20:15
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
An Island for One shows how Baltic animation transforms loneliness into a poetic, emotional, and philosophical space. In these films, solitude is not only a source of vulnerability, but also an opportunity for self-discovery, reconciliation, and inner transformation.
Home Shores
June 2, Tuesday at 18:30
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Home Shores celebrates childhood as a space where even the smallest corner of the world can transform into an endless landscape of imagination. The films are playful and accessible, while retaining the emotional depth and visual imagination characteristic of Baltic animation.
Odd Forest
June 2, Tuesday at 20:15
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Odd Forest delves into the darkest, strangest, and most adult-oriented corners of Baltic animation. These films are saturated with absurd humour, desire, bad habits, surreal dreams, and social satire. The programme presents animation as a space for grotesque comedy, erotic absurdity, and unruly imagination.
Baltic Gems
June 3, Wednesday at 20:15
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Baltic Gems is a selection that brings together internationally acclaimed works of Baltic animation. The programme offers a glimpse into the diversity of animation from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, ranging from poetic and visually exquisite films to ironic, surreal, and emotionally honest stories. Like a mosaic of Baltic animation, each film reveals a distinct authorial style, theme, and imagination.
Beyond the Storm
June 12, Friday at 18:30
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Beyond the Storm in the history and culture of the Baltic states is not merely a political act, but also a form of memory, humour, and survival. This programme brings together films that address power, oppression, and resilience, demonstrating how animation can transform historical and personal experiences into powerful visual metaphors. In Baltic animation across different generations, resistance manifests both as collective memory and as a quiet refusal to submit.
Sea of Love
June 12, Friday at 20:15
Location: WPÜ Shinjuku
Sea of Love brings together intimate stories of love, loss, longing, desire, and emotional awakening. Through myth, memory, romance, grief, and inner tension, these films explore how emotions shape a person’s inner world and relationships with others. In this programme, the heart is not just a symbol of tenderness, but also a restless force.