Romas Zabarauskas

Romas Zabarauskas (born 31 May 1990)^[1] is a Lithuanian film director, screenwriter, author,^[2] and producer.^[3] He established the film company Naratyvas in 2012.^[4] Zabarauskas, a member of the European Film Academy, completed film studies at the Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis University with an exchange year at CUNY/Hunter.^[5] He had previously attended the Jonas Basanavičius school in Vilnius.^[6]

Zabarauskas in 2018

Zabarauskas made his debut with a short film Porno melodrama in 2011, which was shown at the international film festival Berlinale.

Openly gay,^[7] Romas takes part in social actions against homophobia. He developed the LGBT Friendly Vilnius initiative,^[8] a map of LGBTQ friendly cafes in Vilnius, which aims to promote openness to all sexualities, races, disabilities, and nationalities within the city.

Filmography

• Porno melodrama (short) (2011)
• We Will Riot (2013)
• You Can't Escape Lithuania (2016)
• Advokatas (The Lawyer) (2020)

Other works

• Zabarauskas authored Lithuania Comes Out: 99 LGBT+ Stories, a collection of ninety-nine stories from LGBTQ Lithuanians^[9]

Awards

• Best Film runner-up at The Bushwick Film Festival for You Can't Escape Lithuania^[10]
• LGBTQ Champion Award, Harvey Milk Foundation, 2021^[11]

Activism

Zabarauskas openly campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights. He published an open letter to the Lithuanian president regarding the country's partnership law.^[12] He, among other Lithuanians, gathered at the Seimas to campaign for the Partnership Law to be passed, at which he was a speaker.^[13] He also champions other causes, such as supporting refugees within Lithuania, namely in partnership with donation platform Aukok.It, in collaboration with the Lithuanian Red Cross, and as a member of the Become an Ambassador project.^[14]

Romas Zabarauskas has been vegan since 2014.^[15]