Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Gabrielė Urbonaitė. Fotografia / Photography: Vytautas Katkus. Montaggio / Editing: Armands Začs. Musica / Music: Edvards Broders. Suono / Sound: Iveta Macevičiūtė. Scenografia / Set Designer: Sigita Jonaitytė. Costumi / Costume Designer: Monika Vėbraitė. Interpreti / Cast: Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Šarūnas Zenkevičius, Roman Lutskyi, Laimutė Štrimaitytė, Maryna Zdarankova, Jūratė Vilūnaitė, Aistė Diržiūtė-Rimkė, Helene Bergsholm, Jolanta Dapkūnaitė, Nerijus Gadliauskas. Produzione / Produced by: Studio Uljana Kim. Coproduzione / Co-produced by: Mima Films, Harald House. Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Lithuanian Film Center, National Film Center of Latvia, LRT.
Present-day Vilnius, Lithuania. Ilona, a perfectionist 29-year-old, feels the pressure to be settled and successful by the time she turns 30. At this turning point in her life, she begins to question how she truly wants to live. She moves into a seemingly perfect apartment with her boyfriend Matas, with whom things are getting serious. But as the building’s renovation begins, it’s not just cracks in the walls that are revealed.
Ilona’s inner doubts also start to surface. She strikes up an unexpected friendship with Oleg, a Ukrainian construction worker. After spontaneously telling him she’s a poet, she actually begins to write poetry. Their connection deepens her uncertainty: does she really want to settle down and start a family? Shot in 16 mm, the Renovation premiered at the Karlovy Vary IFF in 2025 and was then presented in several international film festivals, including Sarajevo and Tallinn.
“The idea for the film came to me one afternoon about seven years ago, after watching Kieślowski’s Camera Buff. I was living and studying in the U.S. at the time, and seeing a setting so similar to my hometown Vilnius, Lithuania made me nostalgic for home. The key components of the story came to me instantly: a woman in a relationship with a man, her life seems fine on the surface, but deep down she’s discontent, and she meets a construction worker with whom she develops a special connection…” (G. Urbonaitė)
Gabrielė Urbonaitė
Film director, writer and editor, Gabrielė Urbonaitė was born in 1993 in Vilnius. She directed several short films, including The Swimmer awarded Best Short Film at the National Lithuanian Film Award. She participated in Berlinale Talents, Talent Camp Odense, and Reykjavik Talent Lab, and was named Mountainfilm Emerging Filmmaker in 2020. She holds a BFA in Film from Emerson College and an MFA in Screenwriting & Directing from Columbia University. Renovation is her debut feature.
filmografia scelta / selected filmography 2013 Plaukikė (The Swimmer) cm / sf; Premi / Awards: Lithuanian Film Awards – Miglior cortometraggio / Best Short Film 2016 Namo (Back) cm / sf; Premi / Awards: Vilnius IFF – Menzione speciale della giuria / Special Jury Mention 2018 Paskutinis skambutis (The Last Day of School) cm / sf 2021 Solastalgia cm / sf doc. 2025 Renovacija (Renovation)
