Private Project

Exemplary Behaviour

Having experienced the loss of his murdered brother, director
Audrius Mickevičius went to the Lukiškės prison to examine the paradox of “exemplary behaviour”. Mickevičius met
Rimas and Rolandas who are sentenced to life but driven
by the hope of change. Mickevičius himself experienced the
journey from anger to forgiveness, which was interrupted
by his terminal disease.
“Exemplary Behaviour”, completed by its script editor
Nerijus Milerius, explores the ideas of forgiveness and social justice.
A socially responsible film initiated, developed and written by Audrius Mickevičius. After the untimely death of Audrius, completed by Nerijus Milerius.

  • Audrius late Mickevicius
    Director
    Fiction “2 Cups of Yoghurt” 30’, 2011; Creative documentary “Man-Horse” 72’/52’, 2008; Documentary “Media Ecologies” 26’, 2008; Documentary “Migrating Birds” 26’, 2007; Experimental “No” 43’, 2003.
  • Nerijus MIlerius
    Director
    Debut as director, “Isaac” script co-writer. From 2016, Milerius was the script editor of the documentary film “Exemplary Behaviour”; from 2017, he is the co-director of this film.
  • Audrius late Mickevicius
    Writer
    Fiction “2 Cups of Yoghurt” 30’, 2011; Creative documentary “Man-Horse” 72’/52’, 2008; Documentary “Media Ecologies” 26’, 2008; Documentary “Migrating Birds” 26’, 2007; Experimental “No” 43’, 2003.
  • Georgi Tenev
    Writer
    2017 "Simon vs fear" ("The Varsano case"), 79; 2012 " Houben Paints Money ", 67; 2011 "Holy Light", screenwriter and director.
  • Rasa Miskinyte
    Producer
    Feature "The Manslayer. The Virgin. The Shadow", 141 min. 2017; Animation: "The Little Boat" 3'25", "Bluebeard" 4'05, 2016 and "Cold Springs" 4'38, 2015 ; Creative doc “Under the Hood” 75’, 2013 ; Creative doc “Book Smugglers” 73’/53’, 2011; Animadoc “The Bug Trainer” 53’, 2008; Creative doc “Spanish for Adults” 51, 2007.
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Pavyzdingas elgesys
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Human interest, Human rights
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 30, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    247,426 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Lithuania
  • Country of Filming:
    France, Lithuania
  • Language:
    French, Lithuanian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • DOK Leipzig. Awards: Golden Dove International Competition Long Documentary and Animated Film, International Critics Prize of FIPRESCI and the Prize of the Interreligious Jury.
    Leipzig
    Germany
    October 31, 2019
    World Premier
    Official selection for Main competition
  • Trieste Film Festival
    Trieste
    Italy
    January 19, 2020
    Italian Premier
    Documentary Competition Programme
  • Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
    Thessaloniki
    Greece
    Greek Premier
    Official Selection
  • Zagreb DOX
    Zagreb
    Croatia
    October 8, 2020
    Croatian Premier
    Competition Programme
  • Dokumentary Film Fesitival Ljubljana. Award: Special Mention at Documentary Film Festival in Ljubljana, 2020.
    Ljubljana
    Slovenia
    March 13, 2020
    Slovenian Premier
    Competition programme
  • Ismailia International Film Festival
    Ismailia
    Egypt
    African Premier / Canceled due to Covid-19
    Competition Programme
  • Vilnius Film Festival “Kino Pavasaris”
    Vilnius
    Lithuania
    March 29, 2020
    Lithuanian/National Premier
    Official Selection
  • Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival
    Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
    Spain
    April 19, 2020
    Spanish Premier/ Canceled due to Covid-19
    Competition Programme
  • Edinburgh Film Festival
    Edinburg
    United Kingdom
    UK Premier / Canceled due to Covid-19
    Competition Programme
  • Moscow International Film Festival
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    October 1, 2020
    Russian Premier
    Official Selection
  • Tirana Film Festival
  • Inconvenient FIlms
    Vilnius, Kaunas
    Lithuania
    October 7, 2020
    National premier
    Official Selection / Festival opening film
Distribution Information
  • ERA FILM
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • Stefilm International
    Sales Agent
    Country: Italy
    Rights: All Rights
    Country: Malta
    Rights: All Rights
  • AGITPROP
    Country: Bulgaria
    Rights: All Rights
  • Casablanca Film Production
    Country: Slovenia
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Audrius late Mickevicius, Nerijus MIlerius

Audrius Mickevičius was an interdisciplinary artist (film, photography, architecture, installations, graphics, sound, writing) and a professor in the Department of Media Art at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts. In 1983, he made his first 8 mm film “Requiem for Quartet”. Since then Audrius created 17 more films. In recent years he created several experimental, documentary, and fiction films, which were screened in various international film festivals and MoMA, New York. From 2010, the film director was a member of the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union. He worked and lived in Vilnius, Lithuania, until his untimely death in 2017.

Nerijus Milerius
Nerijus Milerius is a scriptwriter, philosopher and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Vilnius University, Lithuania. He is teaching film philosophy, religious cinema, cultural studies and aesthetics. He is the editor and one of the authors of the monograph “Film and Philosophy” and the author of the monograph “Apocalypse in Cinema: The Philosophical Presuppositions” (Vilnius University Press, 2013). Milerius is an author or co-author of several scripts for feature films, such as “Isaac” (director Jurgis Matulevičius) released at Black Nights Film Festival , Tallinn 2019; “Antigonė” (director Oskaras Koršunovas) which is in development. Milerius was the script editor of the documentary film “Exemplary Behaviour”; from 2017 he is the co-director of this film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT by AUDRIUS MICKEVIČIUS
“Death makes us equal. It helps us feel and recognize the real world, which is currently
becoming more of a simulation. Our authentic social life is replaced by its representation in media which often destructively influences our mentality. Human condition, dignity, freedom, social responsibility and tolerance have a value worthy of discussion in this virtually anesthetized contemporary world.”

DIRECTOR'S NOTE by NERIJUS MILERIUS
“The mission of the film is to abandon the stereotypes and look at the life of the prisoners sentenced for life without initial prejudices. Looking closely at lifers, their contradictory individualities begin to emerge. The film "Exemplary Behaviour" is a film not only about the crime and the fall, but also about the time that has stopped, about the thoughts of suicide and about the moderate hope to regain freedom and to come back to “real” life.”