Arūnas Matelis Makes Film on Man and Pets

This is a copy-paste of an article in FNE Daily, written by Alexander Gabelia:

VILNIUS: Lithuanian director/writer/producer Arūnas Matelis is currently in production with his new long documentary G.H.1 / G.V.1, which he calls “a very, very challenging film”.

G.H.1 investigates the bond between a human and an animal, and also the connection between one dog and another. A pet owner, stroking their companion for the last time, knows this: what stays forever is not sadness or pain, but the memory of true friendship and love.

“When we talk about the world of pets, of dogs or puppies, we are talking about ourselves. We are talking about people who feel less lonely because they have someone to care for, someone worth sacrificing for. This is a very, very challenging film. Films with animals are some of the hardest to make. At first, we wanted to take on all the risk ourselves, experiment, and once we had laid down the ‘true foundations,’ to invite others to join in the creation of this film. Additionally, the producing strategy aims to provide the director with full creative freedom on this journey, a path of artistic experimentation and exploration in crafting a unique cinematic language for such a challenging film. This period also allows the crew to acclimate to the demanding shooting conditions”, Arūnas Matelis told FNE.

G.H.1 is produced by Algimantė Matelienė and Arūnas Matelis through Lithuanian Studio Nominum in coproduction with Lithuanian Kino Kontora.

The project is supported by the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) and the LATGA Association. The total budget is 260,000 EUR.

“This time, we are consciously and strategically prioritising national production. The Lithuanian Film Centre, the National Public Broadcaster’s support, the tax incentive, our studio Nominum investment allow us to generate 75% budget and to concentrate attention on the beginning of filming. And it was crucial not to spent time searching for coproducers, co-funding, which would delay the shoot. The strategy is to start looking for coproducers, funds, TV presales, distributors, when the film’s idea is no longer just on paper, in the director’s mind, or in test shoots, but in the actual material itself”, Arūnas Matelis also said.

The shooting is taking place in Lithuania, Finland and Estonia. It began in 2024 and will conclude in 2025.

The film will be completed and released in 2026.

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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