On September 18, 2025, the Vytautas Magnus University Lithuanian Emigration Institute and the Valdas Adamkus Presidential Library-Museum organized an event within the seminar series “Unforgettable Names,” dedicated to the memory of Lithuanian public figures and diplomats who lived in France in the 1930s. During the event, the documentary film “A Thunderbolt from the Blue Sky,” created by Prof. Egidijus Aleksandravičius, Director of the VMU Lithuanian Emigration Institute, together with video artist Henrikas Gulbinas, was shown for the first time. Later, a roundtable discussion featured Perkūnas Liutkus, son of diplomat Antanas Liutkus; historian and researcher at the VMU Lithuanian Emigration Institute, Dr. Asta Petraitytė-Briedienė; French Lithuanian Karolina Masiulytė-Paliulienė; and author Juozas Brazauskas, who presented his book “Enticed by France” (Prancūzijos pavilioti).

The discussion participants commented on the film and recalled the unique atmosphere of the villa “America,” where the Liutkus family lived and hosted their guests. They discussed the intergenerational ties within the Lithuanian community in France, as well as the relationship between the generation born in France and Lithuania. “I remember Perkūnas Liutkus’ speech in Paris on the occasion of February 16 – he urged us to take an interest in Lithuania, which was then under occupation, and to seek a connection with the homeland. These were new ideas within the community at that time, but very important to us,” said Karolina Masiulytė-Paliulienė. Meanwhile, Perkūnas Liutkus recalled his teachers Algirdas Julius Greimas, Antanas Mončys, and Prelate Jonas Petrošius.

For this special occasion, Antanas Liutkus’ photography exhibition “Lithuanians on the French Riviera” returned to the Adamkus Library. The exhibition captures moments from the lives of Lithuanian diplomats and cultural figures in Southern France from 1941 to 1953. First presented in November 2023, the exhibition later toured Lithuania and, as part of the Lithuanian Cultural Season in France, was displayed in Villefranche-sur-Mer and later at the Embassy of Lithuania in Paris.