Born in 1964 in Siauliai, Lithuania, Sharunas Bartas graduated from the renowned All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. In 1989, he founded Studija Kinema, the first independent studio in Lithuania. From the very beginning, Sharunas Bartas was warmly received by critics. Films such as Three Days (1991), premiered at the 1992 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Ecumenical Jury Prize and received an Honourable Mention for the FIPRESCI Award; The Corridor (1995), winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Viennale; Few of Us (1996), premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival; Freedom (2000), nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; Seven Invisible Men (2005), premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes; and Peace to Us in Our Dreams (2015), have shaped a rare and delicate aesthetic that continues to expand throughout his filmography. The social and cultural changes brought about by the end of the Soviet Union, the ruined lives, the difficulties of communication and expression, and the prevailing despair are hallmarks of his aesthetic.
In February 2016, the Centre Pompidou dedicated a retrospective to his work. A regular presence at LEFFEST (his most recent participation being in 2020 with In the Dusk, selected for Official Competition), he now returns with his latest film, Laguna (2025), already premiered at the Venice Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section. Laguna is his second film to premiere this year, following Back to the Family, which was selected for the Big Screen Competition at the Rotterdam Film Festival.