The Southern Chronicles (Lithuanian: Pietinia Kronikas) is a 2024 coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Ignas Mià ¡kinis and written by EglàVertelytÃÂ. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Rimantas Kmita, the film is a joint Lithuanian-Estonian co-production, starring Dà ¾iugas Grinys, Robertas Petraitis and Digna KulionytÃÂ.
The film competed in the main competition at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on November 21, 2024, where it won Best Baltic Film. It won 12 Silver Crane Awards including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor for Dà ¾iugas Grinys, Best Supporting Actress for Irena Sikorskytàand Best Screenplay.
It was selected as Lithuanian's entry for the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, but it was not nominated.'
The movie became a mass commercial success as it was the highest grossing film in the country in 2025 and is currently the highest-grossing Lithuanian film ever made.
Set in the early-1990s, a few years after Lithuania's re-independence, Rimantas is a 17-year-old boy who is more interested in playing rugby, listening to music, and dealing on the black market with his friend Minde than in studying. However, when he falls in love with the beautiful, middle-class Monika, his faith in love and the future is put to the test.
The actors participating in this film are:
Principal photography took place in the summer of 2022 in à  iauliai, Lithuania.
The film had its world premiere on November 6, 2024, at the 34th International Film Festival Cottbu, then screened on November 21, 2024, at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and on January 14, 2025, at the 35th Tromsø International Film Festival.
The film was released commercially on January 24, 2025, in Lithuanian theaters, and on May 23, 2025, in Estonian theaters.
In its debut weekend, the film attracted 57,948 viewers for a total of â¬453,455, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend in the country's history, surpassing ', Slender Man, Ashes in the Snow, and Frozen 2. In its third weekend in theaters, the film was seen by a total of 260,775 viewers, grossing â¬2.63 million.
Almost two months after its commercial release, it became the highest-grossing Lithuanian film in history.