Lithuanian documentary filmmaker Marija Stonyte’s debut feature-length film – a coming-of-age story of three girls who become women in a distinctly male environment.

When, a few years ago, military conscription for men in Lithuania was reinstated, a number of young women decided to register for military service on a voluntary basis. At an isolated military base, three girls live and train among 600 men, and each has her experience and her own reasons for joining the Lithuanian army. One wants to start a new life, another wants to find love, and the third – to prove that she is strong and capable of protecting her country from possible Russian aggression.

Romantic visions of what it means to be a soldier are quickly altered as they start the service and their expectations are challenged by reality – naïve ideals do not fit into an isolated base, but their physical and emotional transformations turn the girls into independent women, responsible for their own fates and happiness.

The film Gentle Warriors was nominated for a Lithuanian Film Award in the Best Documentary Film category.