At the end of November, a new comedy by T. Vidmantas, “Not Waiting for Christmas,” will appear in Lithuanian cinemas. In it, the director turns the rules of a Christmas film upside down and tells not about how to wait for Christmas, but how not to wait for it. However, the story is warm, cozy, and funny – it couldn’t be otherwise for T. Vidmantas.
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Popular radio host Vilius, played by Leonardas Pobedonoscevas, is preparing for Christmas with his wonderful family. The pleasant anticipation of the holidays is disturbed by unexpected news: his parents, who left him to grow up with his grandmother as a small boy and went to America, are returning to live in Lithuania.
The parents haven’t even appeared yet, but old grievances have returned. Vilius seems ready to do anything to avoid a joint Christmas dinner. He will try to fly the family to Dubai, get involved in fights, break his own bones, and even try to end up in jail.
The film’s title seems to suggest that there won’t be much of the usual Christmas joy in the movie. However, the director is confident that such a contrast makes the film fun and funny. “I like that ‘not waiting’ differs by only one letter from ‘waiting,'” says T. Vidmantas.
As in his previous film – “The Millionaire’s Anniversary” – he again dives into the relationships between parents and children. He says he believes that only a rare family avoids problems in these relationships.
“Indeed, there are only a few mythical families where parents were happy raising children, and the children grew up the same way. Children’s relationships with their parents are the foundation of happiness and peace. This topic is very relevant to me.
And if it is relevant to me, then there may be more people like that,” the director reflects, adding that a person who does not wait for Christmas is more interesting to him than one who does.
The director, who started his path in cinema with the dark humor comedy “Received Call,” does not hide that over those ten years not only his work but also he himself has changed.
“Although it was fun to create back then, and it is still fun to watch that comedy now, I have matured a bit. Saying ‘I have matured’ is hard to say – it would be a lie. Having become a father, today I understand my parents better. No matter how sometimes you don’t want to admit it, family is one of the most important things in a person’s life.”
T. Vidmantas likes to go to the cinema with his family and watch films meant for families – not children’s films, not animated ones, but those after which you can talk about important things.
“There aren’t many such films, and none Lithuanian. I think it’s time to bring family films back to the cinema screens,” says the director, often called one of the most popular creators of contemporary Lithuanian commercial cinema.
Having entered the big screen a decade ago, he has created several films loved by audiences. His comedies “Night Fishing,” “The Millionaire’s Legacy” received awards for the most viewed Lithuanian films. The director and his wife Lina created the animated family series “Babaužiukai.”
T. Vidmantas knows how to make the audience laugh, but the new comedy “Not Waiting for Christmas” promises somewhat different tones – perhaps the laughter in the hall will not be as loud, but warmth and recognizable situations will remain even after leaving the film.
The director says he paid more attention not to individual jokes but to the story and the characters’ relationships. “This film has many true stories and situations, but quite a few are fictional,” he says, adding that jokes are just salt and pepper. If the story is not interesting, no jokes will improve it.
During the film’s creative process, T. Vidmantas was accompanied by a long-time creative team, which he himself calls his third family: cinematographer Ronaldas Buožis, composer Vytautas Bikus, editor Žilvinas Kuzma, first assistant director Robertas Kuliūnas, sound director Martynas Tamulis, producers Deividas Misiulis, Mantvidas Žalėnas, Jurgita Rakauskaitė, and many others.
The Christmas film for families by T. Vidmantas, “Not Waiting for Christmas,” will be released on November 27. The film stars Leonardas Pobedonoscevas, Lina Rastokaitė, Odilė Vydmantaitė, Kristupas Čipkus, Kirilas Glušajevas, Marius Jampolskis, Markas Butkus, Vitalija Mockevičiūtė, Ieva Delininkaitytė, Milda Noreikaitė, Donatas Šimukauskas, Rasa Marazaitė, Dalia Michelevičiūtė.
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