Vilnius: "China Sea," a psychological drama co-produced by Taiwan and Lithuania, made its theatrical premiere at the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Tuesday before beginning an official run in the Baltic state on Friday. The film first received its world premiere on Nov. 18 last year at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PFF) in Estonia, where it also won Best Film in the Critics' Picks Competition.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Vilnius premiere was attended by Taiwanese and Lithuanian officials, highlighting the cooperation between the two countries. Taiwan's top envoy to Lithuania, Constance Wang, expressed her satisfaction with the collaborative process, emphasizing its positive and professional nature, including the casting process.

The film features an ensemble cast from both Lithuania and Taiwan, with Taiwanese actors Jag Huang Lu Yi-ching and Sonia Yuan in leading roles. Directed by Jurgis Matulevicius, "China Sea" follows Lithuanian actor Marius Repsys as a disgraced mixed-martial arts (MMA) champion who is expelled from his sports league after accidentally injuring a girl during a street altercation. With a ban on participating in tournaments in Asia, Repsys's character, Osvald, is forced to stay in his Eastern European hometown, spending most of his days in "China Sea," an Asian restaurant owned by Huang's Ju-Long, a Taiwanese immigrant and Osvald's only remaining friend.

The film explores Osvald's journey as he is compelled into group psychotherapy by a court and begins to lose touch with reality while seeking redemption in the martial arts world. In a press release, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania noted that the film received partial support from the Taiwan Creative Content Agency and Lithuanian counterparts, including the Lietuvos kino centras (Lithuanian Film Centre).

In addition to its participation at PFF, Wang mentioned plans to submit "China Sea" to international film festivals in Taiwan, such as the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the Taipei Film Festival. The movie will officially make its theatrical release in Lithuania on Friday.