SLOW Discovery

Lithuania’s Oscar^® submission for Best International Feature

In this gorgeously realized, sensual second feature from Lithuanian filmmaker Marija Kavtaradzė (SUMMER SURVIVORS, 2018), Elena and Dovyda’s unique relationship unfolds and evolves. Dance instructor Elena (played by the alluring Greta Grineviciute) is a sex positive serial dater when she meets Dovyda (Kestutis Cicenas), a soft-spoken but expressive sign language interpreter. The two gradually form a meaningful and intense bond that is threatened when Dovyda reveals to Elena that he is asexual. The two continue their romance (albeit without sex), but Elena’s attempts to, at first, understand Dovyda, and later to change him cause strife in their newly formed relationship. A complex, candid and rare portrait of diverse sexuality, intimacy and human connection, SLOW won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is Lithuania’s Oscar® submission for Best International Feature. –Julia Kipnis