Karolis Kaupinis

• Name — Karolis Kaupinis • Born — 9 October 1987 • Birthplace — Vilnius, Lithuania • Occupation — * Film director • screenwriter • Notable Works — * Nova Lituania • The Noisemaker • * Watchkeeping

Karolis Kaupinis was born on 9 October 1987, in Vilnius, Lithuania. He graduated from Vilnius University with a master's degree in Comparative Politics. For five years, Karolis Kaupinis worked as a presenter and editor-in-chief of a weekly television program covering political news for a Lithuanian national channel. In 2013, he wrote and directed his first fiction short film, The Noisemaker, in collaboration with producer Marija Razgutė and M-Films production company. The project was selected at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2013 and screened at 50 international film festivals. In 2017, he wrote and directed his second short film, Watchkeeping, also produced by Marija Razgutė (M-Films) and screened at various international festivals. In 2019, his debut feature film, Nova Lituania, was selected for the co-production market at Les Arcs Film Festival and released in 2020 as a historical black-and-white film. It premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2020. This collaboration with Marija Razgutė (M-Films) was Lithuania's submission for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. His second feature film, Hunger Strike Breakfast, was filmed in Kaunas, Lithuania, in March 2023. The film, produced by Marija Razgutė (M-Films) in co-production with Background Films (Czech Republic) and Tasse Film (Latvia), explores the hunger strike of Lithuanian television employees following the Soviet Union's military occupation of the Vilnius TV Tower in 1991. It was scheduled for release in 2024.