Vilnius-Set Film How to Divorce During the War Wins Directing Prize at Sundance

Vilnius-set film wins Directing Award at Sundance, spotlighting Lithuania’s growing role in global cinema

Vilnius, Lithuania — How to Divorce During the War, a Lithuanian film set entirely in Vilnius against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has won the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival, marking another major international milestone for Lithuania’s growing film industry.

Directed by Andrius Blaževičius, the darkly comic drama explores the collision of personal crisis and geopolitical upheaval, following a couple whose marriage unravels just as Europe enters one of its most turbulent periods in decades.

A Personal Story Set Against a Continental Crisis

Set in early 2022, the film centres on Marija, an ambitious executive who initiates divorce proceedings with her husband on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As war breaks out just beyond Lithuania’s borders, the couple is forced to confront their own privilege, moral choices, and responsibilities while navigating the collapse of their relationship.

Vilnius plays a central role in the film’s narrative. In the first year of the invasion, the Lithuanian capital welcomed approximately 19,000 Ukrainian refugees, a reality woven directly into the story. The film depicts the city’s rapid transformation as ordinary life continued amid visible signs of war — Ukrainian flags, refugee housing, and civic mobilization.

“Vilnius was the perfect setting for this story,” Blaževičius said in a statement following the Sundance announcement. “I wanted to make a film about Europe during that turbulent period. In 2022, Vilnius was a city transformed — there was this tension between normal life and geopolitical crisis, and the city itself preserved those visual markers of that moment.”

Critical Acclaim at Sundance

The film’s restrained tone and performances drew strong reviews during its Sundance premiere. Variety praised the leads for their “finely tuned, delicately ironic performances,” while The Film Verdict described the film as “intelligent,” highlighting one sequence as “one of the best scenes of marital fracture in recent memory.”

Principal photography took place across Vilnius, including the UNESCO-protected Old Town and the suburban area of Antaviliai, grounding the film in recognisable, lived-in spaces rather than stylized backdrops.

Vilnius Emerges as a European Film Hub

The Sundance win adds to Vilnius’s growing reputation as a major European filming destination. In recent years, the city has doubled for 1980s Ukraine in Chernobyl, Cold War-era Siberia in Stranger Things, and 19th-century Austria in Sisi.

According to Jūratė Pazikaitė, Head of the Vilnius Film Office, the success of How to Divorce During the War underscores the impact of targeted local investment.

“We are proud that this film, supported by the newly established Vilnius Film Fund, is gaining international recognition so quickly,” Pazikaitė said. The fund, launched in 2025, provides financing specifically for international co-productions filmed in the Lithuanian capital.

Beyond historic architecture and Soviet-era modernism, filmmakers have increasingly used Vilnius’s green spaces, former Lukiškės Prison, and the city’s post-industrial New Town district. In 2025 alone, productions filmed in the city ranged from historical dramas and children’s films to sci-fi series and action thrillers.

Another International Win for Lithuanian Cinema

How to Divorce During the War is an international co-production involving partners from Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. The lead roles are performed by Marius Repšys and Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, the latter a recipient of the European Shooting Stars award.

The film marks Blaževičius’s third feature. His previous works, The Saint and Runner, collectively earned eight Silver Cranes, Lithuania’s national film awards. The film had its European premiere at the Gothenburg Film Festival in January 2026.

As global attention continues to focus on stories shaped by the war in Ukraine, the Sundance recognition positions How to Divorce During the War — and Vilnius itself — at the centre of Europe’s contemporary cinematic conversation.