Robertas Verba

At the beginning of the 1960s, when the French pioneers of cinéma vérité set out to achieve a new realism, and when direct cinema in Québec began to vie for notice, the Baltics wit-nessed the birth of a generation of documentarists who favored a more romantic view of the world around them. This meditative documentary essay – from a Latvian writer and Lithuanian director whose composed touch has long dovetailed with the stylistically diverse works of the Baltic New Wave – pushes adroitly past the limits of the common his-toriographic investigation to create a portrait of less-clearly remembered filmmakers. The result is a consummate poetic treatment of the ontology of documentary creation. Also a cinematic poem about cinema poets.

A film about a great folk talent, Vincas Svirskis (1835-1916), a carpenter who traveled from village to village. His shelter, his family, his property was replaced by oak sculptures, crosses, his image left, people forgot his tomb, but his works remain - a monument to the master...

A documentary film about two Lithuanian pilots, who flew over the Atlantic in 1933 - Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas.

A documentary film about two Lithuanian pilots, who flew over the Atlantic in 1933 - Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas.

In 1977, Robertas Verba followed Jonas Mekas in Lithuania, his second trip there after he left the country in 1944.

Though created to commemorate the centenary of Lenin, the documentary is far from celebrating Soviet ideology. In the film people who are one hundred years old talk about their lives. Their remembrances illuminate traditions and past of Lithuania.

Though created to commemorate the centenary of Lenin, the documentary is far from celebrating Soviet ideology. In the film people who are one hundred years old talk about their lives. Their remembrances illuminate traditions and past of Lithuania.

The wife of a depressed sailor explains what it is like to wait for her husband and then not be able to find any common ground.

The wife of a depressed sailor explains what it is like to wait for her husband and then not be able to find any common ground.

A film about the classics of Lithuanian literature. The director was interested not only in her creative path but also in her fate. He tried to make the film, made entirely of static material, breathe alive without appearing stagnant. In addition, instructional films are a great opportunity to set aside some of the dedicated film for documentaries, and the film limits for Verbs have always been too low.

A short film capturing the journey of various musicians and singers to the Lithuanian Song Festival.

A short film capturing the journey of various musicians and singers to the Lithuanian Song Festival.

As people approached the 100th anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, all people, though somewhat related, became important. The film's heroines are the artist's sisters Jadvyga and Viktorija Čiurlionytė. The verbs were usually concerned with revealing the man, he did not even emphasize the difference between a celebrity and an unknown person in the village. And in "Sisters", the director is interested in the communication between the two sisters of honorable age, their states, relationships, insignificant, seemingly replicas, rather than building a monument to the brother.

As people approached the 100th anniversary of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, all people, though somewhat related, became important. The film's heroines are the artist's sisters Jadvyga and Viktorija Čiurlionytė. The verbs were usually concerned with revealing the man, he did not even emphasize the difference between a celebrity and an unknown person in the village. And in "Sisters", the director is interested in the communication between the two sisters of honorable age, their states, relationships, insignificant, seemingly replicas, rather than building a monument to the brother.

Folk masters carve sculptures and recount memories in memory of the burned Ablinga villagers.

This moving portrayal of an experience understandable to us all the sense of reclaiming a distant heritage charts the odyssey of young Canadian-Lithuanians as they return to the mythic homeland where their parents were born. Absorbing the sights and sounds of a land at once so intimate and so foreign to them. Superb short performances by singers at the famous Rumsiskes National Park, and a classic poetry reading by renowned actor Laimonas Noreika are among the many special attractions. For those who have ever returned to their past, but even more so for those who have not, this film is a chronicle of a dream come true.

Moving people from homesteads to settlements. Families are filmed and interviewed in their old backyards just before they move out.

Moving people from homesteads to settlements. Families are filmed and interviewed in their old backyards just before they move out.

Robertas Verba’s first documentary film, described by film critic Živile Pipinyte as “the ‘ice-breaker’ which broke through the ice of Soviet ideology to form the peculiar stylistics of Lithuanian documentary film.” The hero of this film is the bright Lithuanian villager Anupras, whose archaic worldview becomes a symbol of the ethno-cultural Lithuanian identity that was often opposed to the identity constructed by Soviet propaganda.

Robertas Verba’s first documentary film, described by film critic Živile Pipinyte as “the ‘ice-breaker’ which broke through the ice of Soviet ideology to form the peculiar stylistics of Lithuanian documentary film.” The hero of this film is the bright Lithuanian villager Anupras, whose archaic worldview becomes a symbol of the ethno-cultural Lithuanian identity that was often opposed to the identity constructed by Soviet propaganda.