2019

On December 27, 2019, the annual Forum of Global Lithuanian Professionals took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. Celebrating GLL's (Global Lithuanian Leaders) 10th anniversary, the stage has been given to inspirational leaders such as Marius Jurgilas, Eivanas Maksvytis, Ingrida Olendraitė & Auksė Gaižauskaitė, Agnė Kajeckaitė, and Rimvydas Baltaduonis. The event has been attended by participants from more than 20 different countries – Germany, Sweden, UK, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Latvia, USA, Saudi Arabia, Azores, and others. The interactive discussions focused on science, business, and Lithuania's global image.

Are you interested in expanding your business to the United States?

Entering a new market requires you to be thoroughly prepared in the skills of market evaluation, competition analysis, consumer value propositions, cultural differences and many others. Without this knowledge, you risk losing time and money.

One of the HIGHLY efficient and effective ways to overcome this barrier is to participate in the UCLA Global Access program (Anderson School of Management Executive MBA Program) which has been providing support and help to international companies across the world for 20 years.

Even though Lithuania has joined the program 2 years ago, it has had already 5 Lithuanian companies participating this year (total 40 international companies) - kudos to Laimutis Abeciunas.

We congratulate five Lithuanian companies that participated in the UCLA GAP program 2019: Northway Biotechpharma, Femtika, Auga Group, FlexBlow and Juodeliai. All companies received entry strategy recommendations at UCLA campus in Los Angeles on December 7th and now the ball is in their hands!

This is a great example of partnership between local Lithuanian professionals, Academia and Lithuanian government to provide platform to Lithuanian companies for the export possibilities, knowledge exchange and promoting Lithuania and its brands in the world.

Lithuanian Oscars submission for this year’s Academy Awards: it's a Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian documentary essay Bridges of Time ("Laiko Tiltai") brought by directors Audrius Stonys (Lithuania) and Kristīne Briede (Latvia).

Story about a unique phenomenon in the history of cinema – the Baltic school of poetic documentary and its creators will have a chance to compete in two categories: the best foreign language film and the best documentary. Lithuania selects a documentary film for a second year in a row.

The movie won the best documentary award at the Shanghai International Film Festival this year, and also had a private screening in Playa Vista, Los Angeles last Sunday represented by the film producers Arūnas Matelis and Algimante Mateliene.

“I’m still thinking about the film since I’ve seen it. Lots of great images. Lots of great ideas. What is the meaning of life? The meaning of life is searching for the meaning of life. I thought about it many many times...” – these are the thoughts of American actor Vyto Ruginis.

Mike Saburov AFI Film Director described the “Bridges of Time” as "a masterfully crafted existential poem. Linking the past and present provides a new look at our own purpose and mortality through the lens of documentary filmmaking."

Many thanks those who made it possible: Eleonora J. Romuva, Marija Grajauskaite (thanks for the great photos!) , Daiva Cekanauskas Navarrette, VFS Films, Studio Nominum, Vesilind in partnership with Lietuvos kino centras, Asociacija LATGA, in co-operation with Vilnius Film Cluster, Baltic DNA productions (thank you Vytas Narutis), LABA.LA & Lithuanian World Arts Council.

American Film Market the most important industry and business event for filmmakers is taking place in Santa Monica, California from November 6-13, 2019.

On Saturday night (November 9), a Lithuanian film networking event was held for the film industry professionals at Hollywood Hills. The 5th annual event was organized by LABA.LA (special thanks to Eleonora Romuva & Vytas Narutis) and the Lithuanian World Arts Council (special thanks to Daiva Cekanauskas Navarrette & Marius Markevicius) in partnership with Lithuanian Film Center, Vilnius Film Cluster and Vilnius Chamber of Commerce.

This event provides a great opportunity to connect with industry peers and collaborate on ideas all while discovering Lithuania and exploring the talent, locations and financial benefits of shooting in Lithuania as well as representing Lithuanian stories to the US & global audiences.

In attendance were “Chernobyl” the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries and one of 2019’s most celebrated shows with Lithuanian crew members: Lineta Miseikyte (Line Producer), Jonas Špokas (Winner Location Managers Guild International Award) and Saulius Lukoševičius (Behind the Scenes Cinematographer).

The event also highlighted “Bridges of Time”, Lithuania’s submission for the Oscars in two categories: the International Feature Movie and the Documentary. A Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian documentary essay brought by directors Audrius Stonys (Lithuania) and Kristīne Briede (Latvia) tells a story about a unique phenomenon in the history of cinema – the Baltic school of poetic documentary and its creators.

Another incredible documentary movie about Giro d‘Italia „Wonderful Losers A Different Planet“ represented by DGA winning director Arūnas Matelis announced its worldwide release on the global digital platforms such as iTunes, Amazon and Google Play later this month. This is the first Lithuanian movie distributed by Under The Milky Way globally. Studio Nominum and the team done an excellent job to position Lithuania as a top country to work with by amazing responsiveness, proactiveness, digital savvyness, work ethics and positive energy.

Representing "Ashes in the Snow", the highest grossing film of all-time in Lithuania and shot 100% on location in Lithuania were LWAC founder and film director Marius Markevicius (Santa Monica), producer Zilvinas Naujokas (Kaunas) and Prithvi Chavan (Mumbai). The film was released in the U.S. and internationally in January 2019 and continues to play worldwide.

It was a great honor to have a delegation of producers from Lithuania including: Aiste Litvinaite, Liana Ruokyte Jonsson, Martynas Mickenas, Karina Nesteckytė, Adomas Jablonskis, Jolanta Lapinskaitė-Vaitulionienė, Dovydas Vilkelis, Ieva Biliunaite, Ignė Smilingytė, Jūratė Pazikaitė, Mantvydas Zalenas, Mindaugas Jokubaitis, Tomas Juchnevic represented by Vilnius Film Cluster and Vilnius Chamber of Commerce.

The evening’s program was led by LWAC’s Co-Founder Daiva Navarrette and the famous SpongeBob cartoonist, writer & illustrator Kaz Prapuolenis. Kazimieras visited Lithuania for the first time participating in Comic Con Baltics in Vilnius last year and since then he has been connecting two worlds through incredible partnerships in animation, arts and mentorship.

We say a big thank you to all of you - we couldn’t do it without you: Snaiguole Venciene & Mauro for your incredible hospitality and beautiful location, Emilio Palame for the world-class music, Rad Bosselman for the captured moments, Marius Morkūnas Dizaineris for the creative touch, Jonas Jonusas for tech support, Ruta Abeciuniene – for content support, Jurate Jakeliuniene – for delicious appetizers, Vaiva Pechulis for location & event management, Ernesto for amazing job at the bar, Laura Jan, Birute Tursaite, Egle Viliute, Darius Aleksander for a helping hand, and to our healthy drinks sponsors Daina Slekys Trout (Health-Ade Kombucha), Saulius Jarasunas and AnneKatherine Friis (Dr Scobii) and Vytas Juskys (Tipplings).

Connecting people with ideas!

Building bridges between Angel cities - Laimutis Abeciunas Commercial Attaché of Lithuania to U.S.A. in partnership with Lithuanian American professionals met with representatives of Lithuanian companies visiting California to explore potential export opportunities to USA represented by Vilnius Chamber of Commerce.

Entering a new market requires business to conduct a thorough market evaluation, competition analysis, identify consumer needs, pain points and value proposition to define an entry strategy. Without this knowledge, business risks losing time and money. One of the highly efficient and effective ways entering USA market is to partner with UCLA Anderson School of Management and participate in the UCLA Global Access program.

We congratulate five Lithuanian companies that participate in the UCLA GAP program this year: AUGA, FEMTIKA, JUODELIAI, NORTHWAY BIOTECHPHARMA and TEREKAS.

Kudos to Commercial Attaché of Lithuania to U.S.A. Laimutis Abeciūnas for his efforts to connect respective Lithuanian companies with UCLA Anderson School of Management, ensure partnerships, exchange of ideas and potential export opportunities.

Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles appreciated everyone’s participation at a Happy Hour in the preparation for the Presidential Elections in Lithuanian. Big thanks to the Lithuanian Consulate in Los Angeles for all of their help with the registration process.

Meeting at Warner Bros Studio with CEO Liudas Ubarevičius and CTO Justas Šalkevičius from SneakyBox! Building bridges between Lithuania & Los Angeles.

Happy Independence Day from everyone at the first meet up of Lithuanian professional clubs in the USA!

Diaspora was one of the major driving forces behind the Lithuanian Independence endeavor and continues to play an important role by building connections and bridges between two countries. Big thanks and kudos to Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C.for bringing us all together! Vardan Tos!

We are now preparing for the Presidential Elections in Lithuania, which will be held on May 12th. A huge shout out to Rimvydas Baltaduonis Mūsų Metas Dabar innitiative leader! We enjoyed a very productive and useful discussion and we are now ready to start activating Lithuanian Angelinos - get ready!

Big thanks to the Lithuanian Consulate in Los Angeles for their hospitality and support! Agnė Gurevičienė, The Second Secretary has prepared helpful instructions for registering to the elections on line: follow the link.

Celebration of Freedom and the Restoration of the independent state of Lithuania at DUO Art Exhibition presented by Lithuanian artists Martynas Ivinskas and Gintaras Meškauskas.

Thought provoking, original, colorful, diverse and contemporary perspective examining 101 years of independence through 8 different topics: Emigration, 100 years of Solitude, Wealth, Religion, Progress, Joy, Citizen and Freedom.

Thank YOU for bringing everyone together!

Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles appreciated everyone‘s willingness to mingle and mix at Happy Hour with Health Industry Professionals. Your ideas and suggestions contributed immensely to the discussion. We are encouraged by the connections we made and anticipate the network will expand. It is good to have so many smart and achieved professionals as part of the team. We are confident that good things will come from our joint efforts.

Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles performs a range of functions to support and sustain the export of Lithuanian independent films from Lithuanian companies. From promoting at key international film festivals to ensuring that film’s interests are represented at the highest level and striving for the value of their contribution to Lithuania, both culturally and economically, to be recognized.

Together in partnership with Lithuanian World Arts Council we are bridging between the creative and commercial sides of the film industry operating in a marketplace.

January 19, 2019 Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles with Lithuanian World Arts Council discussed export possibilities of Lithuanian movies with Lithuanian producers Arūnas Matelis and Algimante Mateliene. Film sales make contribution to Lithuania economy generating income annually from distribution agreements. In equal measure, they also facilitate the export of Lithuania culture abroad.

Always at the back of the group, with no right for a personal victory. These wonderful losers are the true warriors of professional cycling. Wonderful Losers. A Different World - Oscar Submission documentary directed by Arūnas Matelis at the Scandinavian Film Festival L.A.

Thank you Arūnas Matelis for describing the odyssey of bicycle racing that became your own personal odyssey!
On behalf of Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles we express gratitude to James Koenig for showcasing the best in contemporary cinema from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Baltic countries.

A month for month, day by day, U.S. feature-film Ashes in the Snow released on January 11, 2019. Latest exhibit of the World War II drama Ashes in the Snow, adapted from Ruta Sepetys’s novel Between Shades of Gray.

Kickoff of nationwide release in Beverly Hills with the director, Marius Markevicius, working from a screenplay by Ben York Jones, edited by Jonathan Dillon, and actor Martin Wallström who makes the largest impression as a half-Ukrainian soldier torn between sympathetic and violent impulses.