Filmmaker and animator Antanas Janauskas at work Antanas Janauskas is an artist, animator, director, screenwriter, sound designer and producer. He has been making films for over 3 decades and has used many different methods to share his films with his audience. And now with the popularity of the new media and online distribution, there are many issues that concern him, including how ideas are formed and expressed on screen. This interview is maybe the most thought-provoking and philosophically-inspired one we made due to the way our interviewee thinks about filmmaking and the new methods of distribution an artist tries to embrace and understand. So enjoy the challange! F.A. During your career as a producer, has there been a project that you really wanted to produce but were unable to do so due to certain obstacles and complications? If so, can you talk a little bit about this project and how you were planning to execute it? A.J. What’s past has passed as well as its obstacles. Nowadays, the biggest problem is that despite the amount of freedom the artist has “outside the box” in terms of distribution, he still locks himself in a prison of digital technologies and perceives “online space“ as real freedom. I feel like nowadays, we just have too much of everything. We have unlimited freedom through all the digital opportunities, but do we really know how to use them or take advantage of them? F.A. What are some of the difficult aspects of filmmaking for you as an animator? A.J. Perhaps there are two main aspects that are difficult for someone who makes films, and those are financing and distribution. I do not have financing problems at the moment, but distribution? I sure do. Showing films in festivals and on the Internet creates an illusion that even short movies can be profitable, but actually they are successful only through separate sales on TV, mobile phones, or Internet pages. But perhaps I’m thinking this way, because I am just waiting for the buyers to come and say, “I am here! I have come! (to buy your film).” F.A. What appeals to you about online film distribution and what can you say about your presence on an online distribution platform like Film Annex? A.J. One indisputable advantage of digital technology is certainly online/digital film promotion and distribution, which at the moment is present in many online platforms such as Film Annex. I believe that when a film is broadcasted on the internet, television, or in a movie theater, the most important thing is for the filmmaker to be able to get his ideas across to the audience. This is the best kind of connection a filmmaker like me can have with the viewers. I’m not concerned about the different technologies and where the film is being broadcasted as much as I worry about the above. In a film festival, I get happy when I see one or two films that light up my mind. And I am still searching for ways to combine all these new digital technologies with my ideas and with how I express them. The digital world welcomes us with its hands wide open, and we run to it with confused minds and try to be happy. About the filmmaker: Born in 1937 in Preidziai Vill.Panevezys reg. Lithuania, Antanas Janauskas had experience working as farmer, at a sugar refinery, as a builder, and even studied to be a tractor driver. He was interested in painting and after graduating from the Telsiai School of Applied Arts in 1965 he started working at the Lithuanian Film Studio in the titles unit. In 1970, he made his first film INICIATYVA as a response to the events of the Prague Spring. His other films The Stamp (1886), A Catching Example (1987), and Favourable Conditions (1989) were all made at the Lithuanian Film Studio. When Lithuania regained independence in 1990, Janauskas established a studio of his own “A. Janausko Animaciniu Filmu Studija AJ” where he continued his work. A. Janauskas films' have global themes. They are paradoxical, allegoric, visually engaging without dialogues. His films were shown at a number of international festivals. For more information on the filmmaker and to watch his films, visit his Film Annex page at www.filmannex.com/ajstudija. Interview by Eren Gulfidan. Contact at www.filmannex.com/erengulfidan