Lithuanian drama/thriller/noir directed by Romas Zabarauskas, in his own words:  THE ACTIVIST  is a hopeful celebration of civic society,  let´s add with its intricacies.  LGBT+ rights in Lithuania have evolved slowly over the years since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1993, although same sex sexual activity among consenting adults is not criminalized, people continue to face legal challenges in such a conservative society.   

It is a sunny summer morning, and the Minister of Interior and her close collaborators announce Pride festivities for the second year in a row. At the press conference, some homophobic infiltrators are against the visibility of diversity and cause trouble.

Deividas (Elvinas Juodkazis) works at the Ministry; he is the activist in charge of Rainbow Kaunas, the public project that fights for LGBT+ rights in the community, and his boyfriend is Andrius (Robertas Petraitis). They live together in a cozy apartment bought by Deividas and furnished by both. Their life as a couple also procures differences of opinion, one night there are several arguments, and Andrius goes out looking for fresh air. When he comes back home, he finds Deividas has been murdered. 

Among the shock and the grief,  there is indifference from the police to resolve the crime, Andrius decides to investigate by himself to find the killer,  and in that task, takes the risk to be involved in a radical Neo Nazi group he suspects has responsibility.

Andrius also finds support in a small circle of friends, Jonas (Simas Kuliesius), Laima (Tekle Baroti), and Deividas’s co-worker Bernardas (Vaslov Goom), who also has access to privileged information that may be something to worry about.   

Portraying a complex social context where the fight for LGBT+ rights has heroes and villains, the film relates to politics, homophobia, and transphobia, and its aesthetics point to the game of light and shadows, in the widest sense, that characterize noir cinema.