Continuing its collaboration with the Baltic Women in Film Mentorship programme, an initiative launched by Lithuanian film professionals, Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) will offer an open-access lecture on the role of intimacy coordinators in filmmaking. The lecture will take place on 19 October from 17:00 to 19:00 in the Vault Hall of the Splendid Palace cinema. In the lecture, Irma Pužauskaitė, a director and certified intimacy coordinator from Lithuania, will give an insight into what the profession entails and why it is crucial in the making of each film.

Pužauskaite learned her profession under the tutelage of American intimacy coordinator Amanda Blumenthal. Blumenthal’s portfolio includes the Netflix series Euphoria and How to Get Away with Murder. Pužauskaitė has extensive experience working on film and TV sets around the world. She has overseen projects such as Queen Cleopatra (Netflix) and Hilma (Viaplay) ensuring that there has been a comfortable and safe environment for shooting intimate scenes. She has also worked on the set of Sisi, a TV series partly shot in Latvia, and on Netflix’s dystopian drama Paradise, as well as on Maria Kavtaradze’s drama Slow, which is Lithuania’s candidate for an Oscar nomination this year. 

Pužauskaitė points out that the work of an intimacy coordinator is extremely broad. On set, it is not limited to creating a safe environment, for example during intimate scenes, but also includes any other filming process that is emotionally demanding for the actors. In this lecture she will share her experiences, talk about best practices on set and how the representation of intimacy coordinators is evolving in the Baltics. She will also highlight the importance of this initiative for the well-being of film professionals, especially actors. 

The lecture will take place on 19 October from 17:00 to 19:00 in the Vault Hall of Splendid Palace. Attendance is free of charge. Film industry professionals – directors, producers and, of course, actors – are especially welcome. To register for the lecture, please fill in the form. The lecture will be held in English.

RIGA IFF’s main partner is the media and technology company Tet. The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, the EU programme Creative Europe MEDIA, Riga City Council, and the National Film Centre.