‘The Activist’ Director on Challenging Stereotypes, the Far-Right’s Surprising Modernity, and His Queer Trilogy

Lithuanian writer-director Romas Zabarauskas wants to keep you on the edge of your seat and wants to keep you guessing. His new crime drama The Activist (Aktyvistas), has drummed up box-office business in his home country, and now the noir thriller is setting its eyes on its international premiere at the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) on Friday.

Robertas Petraitis, known from Lithuania’s 2026 Oscar contender The Southern Chronicles, stars as Andrius, who is full of grief and guilt after a masked intruder kills his secret lover Deividas (Elvinas Juodkazis), who is Lithuania’s most influential human rights activist. Andrius has been too afraid to come out or publicly support the queer community ahead of the planned first-ever LGBTQ+ march in the city of Kaunas.

But the murder leads Andrius to launch his own covert investigation without knowing whom to trust, especially as neo-Nazis threaten…