
GABRIELĖ PLUKAITĖ | FINLAND + GERMANY | 2026 | 19 MIN | MULTILINGUAL EST
GABRIELĖ PLUKAITĖ | FINLAND + GERMANY | 2026 | 19 MIN | MULTILINGUAL EST
Subtitles: English
Expecting Paradise is a dramedy in which a dispirited queer Eastern European at an underground post-punk concert in Berlin must face personal shortcomings as their best friend prepares to move back to Lithuania.
Gabrielė Plukaitė, aka Gabrielė Liepa, is a Lithuanian filmmaker, film critic, actor, writer, drag king, singer and others. Their film and writing work foregrounds existentialist and new romantic sensibilities while exploring dilemmas of rootlessness, identity confusion and the weight of history that surround queer eastern European diaspora. They are currently writing a book, their first feature screenplay, and making music with the band that shot out from this film. They currently live in Berlin.
Expecting Paradise is a film about imperfect queer migrants, messy, complicated people, a film about my friends. I drew inspiration from rebellious queer new wave and playful eastern European film canon—and the treasure chest of eastern European post-punk music. Armed with a FLINTA* crew and a band we created for the film, I set Expecting Paradise in underground Berlin and dove into the rootlessness, melancholy, tensions and bad decisions that unite our diaspora across borders.
Katariina Kangas, Evgenia Papazisi, Gabrielė Plukaitė
Gabrielė Plukaitė
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