Miyazaki’s film will not be shown in Lithuania due to possible connections between the distributor and Russia

Lithuanian cinemas have refused to show Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s film “The Boy and the Bird” due to reports of a possible connection between distributor Artgene and Russia. This is reported in press release cinemas.

In October, Lithuanian cinemas received information that the Estonian-based company Artgene had acquired the rights to distribute The Boy and the Bird in the Baltics. After an inspection, it was possible to confirm that the company is connected with Russia, the press release notes.

Initially, the French Goodfellas acquired the rights to show the film in the Baltics, but it sold the rights to distribute it in Russia, the Baltics and other countries to commercial structures “connected with Russian capital,” the statement says.

“The Boy and the Bird” was supposed to be shown in Lithuanian cinemas on December 22. As noted in the press release, after refusing to show the film, cinemas received a letter from Artgene, which contained a “peculiar threat” to publicly slander Lithuania for disrupting the screening.

The plot of the anime “The Boy and the Bird” is based on the story of the boy Mahito, who, after the death of his mother during World War II, moves with his father to the countryside. There he finds a tower, with the help of which he goes to the other world. In Russia, the rights to the show were acquired by the Russian Reporting company. On December 7, the film was released in Russia.

Review by Yulia Shagelman of the film “The Boy and the Bird” by Miyazaki – in the material “Kommersant” “Guardian of Balance”.

Lusine Balasyan