Dekanalog has acquired Drowning Dry (Sesės), the sophomore feature film by Lithuanian filmmaker Laurynas Bareiša selected as Lithuania’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards. The haunting family drama celebrated its world premiere at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, where the film won the Best Director prize for Bareiša, and the Best Performance Award was shared by its ensemble cast.
Dekanalog is planning to release Drowning Dry theatrically in the U.S. in the late spring of 2025.
Drowning Dry is both the filmmaker’s second time as Lithuania’s contender in the International Feature Academy Award race and marks the second collaboration with Dekanalog, who previously distributed his 2021 Venice International Film Festival’s Horizons Award-winning debut feature Pilgrims, which had its North American premiere at New Directors/New Films followed by the U.S. theatrical release.
Written, directed, and shot by Bareiša, Drowning Dry tells the story of two sisters, Ernesta (Gelminė Glemžaitė) and Justė (Agnė Kaktaitė), whose lives are irrevocably altered after a near-tragic accident involving one of their children during a weekend getaway with their spouses, Tomas (Giedrius Kiela) and Lukas (Paulius Markevičius).
The title, a reference to the phenomenon of dry drowning, metaphorically underscores the layered and splintered narrative of grief and recovery. “I used the irregular repetition of the dry drowning condition as a structural element of the story to highlight the various ways of dealing with trauma,” Bareiša explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
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Dekanalog co-founder Lysa Le said: “We are thrilled at the opportunity to share another one of Laurynas Bareiša’s films with North American audiences. Laurynas’ work is stylistically unique, offering some of the most emotionally engaging storytelling we’ve ever seen. Drowning Dry is a must-see.”
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