Pietinia Kronikas / The Southern Chronicles

Rimants, 17, is growing up in a working-class neighbourhood in the south of the city of Šiauliai. It's the early 1990s, and Lithuania has recently gained independence from the Soviet Union. Times are wild and tough; everything is in upheaval, and a capitalist competitive spirit is coming to life. Rimants thinks physical fitness and money are the keys to success. He plays rugby and trades on the black market with his friend Mindė. Graduating from school is a secondary concern. But then he falls in love with Monika, who comes from a middle-class family and is interested in literature. To make an impression on her, Rimants begins to read – and something in him gradually changes. As the world around him undergoes a brutal transformation, his certainties begin to crumble as well. Witty, intricate, and touching, the film tells the story of Rimants' awakening while painting an exciting and authentic portrait of Šiauliai in the initial post-Soviet years. The film is based on the novel by the same name by Rimantas Kmita.