Once a year, the secluded village of Pievėnai in Samogitia, in North-western Lithuania, comes alive to celebrate Catholic Easter and preserve a vanishing ancient tradition – the Guardians of the Cross, during Easter night. With gracious humour and respect towards the local public, the filmmakers observe the preparations for the Easter vigil and immerse the audience in the special atmosphere of Easter night. The film raises questions about the relationship between the sacred and the secular in the modern-day world.

In Lithuanian with subtitles in Latvian and English.

The film On Sacred and Profane was created by Lithuanian film studio Monoklis together with Latvian film studio Mistrus Media. The film’s music is by Vestards Šimkus. According to historical documents, the ceremony of guarding the cross depicted in the film was widespread throughout Samogitia and was outlawed at the beginning of the 19th century due to its inconsistency with Christian morality. To this day, the theatrical Easter performance has only been preserved in Pievėnai.