Berlin Stabilize Ursula Winner, Baltic Hot New Talents Jonas Trukanas, Tomas Harju and Others for Baltic Event Co-Production Market
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has unveiled 15 projects that will be presented at the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event sidebar of the Black Nights Tallinn Film Festival from November 18 to 20. Out of 110 submissions from 34 countries, the list of projects in development seeking co-financing, distribution and sales covers 10 territories: Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, […]
Lithuanian horror "Wild Love" and Basque project "La Korena" are among 15 projects from 10 countries that will be presented at the co-production market in Tallinn.
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has announced its 15 projects to be presented at the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event sidebar of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on November 18-20.
Out of 110 submissions from 34 countries, the list of pictures in development seeking co-financing, distribution and sales includes 10 territories - Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. Related Stories WWE Enters Microdrama With 'Shadow Agent' Drew McIntyre Takes Center Stage Raindance To Launch UK's First Major Vertical Market & Festival (Exclusive)
"La Korena" by Basque Joana Moya, produced by Sirimiri Films, founded by Estibaliz Urresola, the Berlinale-winning director of "20,000 species of bees", and the horror comedy "Wild Love" by Lithuanian Jonas Trukanas ("Pensive2", After the High Professional20) are behind the film. "Pilgrims" winner and Locarno 2024 winner "Drowning Dry". Popular in Variety
Other high-profile projects in the Ukrainian-German-Czech "family squad" from the largest Ukrainian animation studio Animagrad, with the success of "Mavka: The Forest Song" and... Latvian-French-Polish coming-of-age "In the Truth by Tomas Harjo, produced by pedigree Latvian outfit VFS Films ("The Rossellinis," "Immortal").
"La Koreana" forms part of a spotlight on the Basque region from the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), while a dominating Baltic crop (6 out of 15 titles) is aimed at boosting the region's top talent and co-production opportunities of other attendees with one of Spain's most vibrant production hubs over the last five years.
For the Baltic Event Co-Production Market's co-managers Helen Räim and Kärt Väinola, focusing on the Baltics was "very natural" as PÖFF turns 30, the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event is 25, and after the Oscar for "Flow," the momentum on Baltic films shows no sign of waning. Not only was the Latvian doc "Ulya" selected at this year's Cannes Film Festival (at Un Certain Regard), but so was "Vesna," a co-production between Lithuania, France, Ukraine and Estonia, which was pitched at last year's Baltic Event Co-Production Market and landed at Cannes' Special Screenings.
Quizzed about common threads at this year's lineup, Räin and Väinola cited belonging, love and growing up as "the strongest collective themes. "Heavier themes such violence, war and death also appear," they said, "although often as secondary threads, approached through humor, satire and the search for oneself."
They added: “This year's Aminap showcases filmmakers who are not afraid to face their questions, doubts and concerns about the world they live in and dream of the world they hope for. Colleagues also highlighted a significant number of first feature films (eight), often backed by "producers with strong track records in Venice, Berlin and Locarno", and a strong slate of "fantasy stories for children and families bringing fantasy and animation to the market".
The 15 projects competing for the €20,000 ($22,300) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award will be judged by a panel of industry experts including Eurimages' Stefan Prohorov, Red Sea Market director Holly Daniels and Allfilm's heavyweight Estonian producer Ivo Felt ("The Tangerines"). A closer look at the Baltic event co-production market:
"At Your Service" (Til tsveis reidubúinn, Magnús Jónsson, Iceland, Estonia)
A dark comedy about a terminally ill artist who starts a euthanasia business after closing his nursing homes in Iceland. Among the Icelandic producers Guðný Guðjójónsdóttir and Sara Djeddou Baldursdóttir, who were also selected in the Tallinn TV Showcase with the series "Kalmann". This co-production with Estonian Munchhausen Films is supported by the Icelandic Film Center, RÚV and Symbion.
"The Boy Who Loves the World" ("De jongen die van de wereld hiield", Steven Wetterlood, Netherlands)
From multi-award winning Dutch hero My Wonderful Summer with Tess and international Emmy winner Kids Anything Goes. Maiike Neve, who is producing with Joram Willink for Bind, says: “Based on one of the most popular Dutch children's books of recent years, ['De jongen die van de wereld hiield'], this is an adventurous family film that dares to reflect on a polarized world while instilling a deep sense of wonder and zest for life.
"Clusterfuck" (Läppä oli, Juho-Pekka Taskanen, Finland)
It's a depiction of "youth and violence and how things can easily go one way," says producer Priya Eskandari of Danish Bear Productions. At a time when young people are portrayed as dangerous or lost, this film explores how the lines between belonging, fun and bullying can blur." Co-production with Mohzi Film Finland.
"Family Squad" (Наша Файта, Kostiantyn Fedorov, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic)
It was previously mentioned in the cartoon film and Stuttgart animation production days. The next feature from Animagrad and producer Anna Eliseeva, the team behind the hit animated film "Mavka: The Forest Song," which was released in 149 countries and grossed over $25 million worldwide. A comedy-drama in which a loser who dies by accident is given a second chance at life and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Co-produced by Telesk Animation Germany and PFX Czech Republic.
"Hide and Seek" ("Paskilkes", Dace Puce, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden)
From the helm of 'The Pit', winner of the Lübeck-Nordic Film Days 2020, produced by Munchhausen Films, one of the leading service centers in the Baltics. A thriller in which a Latvian mother's life in Sweden is turned upside down after she is accused of abusing her young daughter. "The project deals with issues that go beyond Latvia: migration, belonging, adaptation, parental responsibility, children's rights, and the challenges of unfamiliarity with legal and social systems," says producer Elena Juzauska.
"Indeed" (Patisiba, Toms Harjo, Latvia)
Dumas, who has been away from his family for years, has to take over his father's job at the school and prepare his niece for the Informatics Olympiad. "Rooted in the peculiar world of provincial Lithuania and post-Soviet education, this film speaks universally about loneliness, addiction, burnout, and the struggle to transcend the identities imposed on us by others," says Magic Films' Greta Axionite.
"Lady Thatcher's Dinner" ("Uczta Pani Thatcher", Marcin Kluczykowski, Poland)
From Polish producer Telemark and producer Piotr Śmiechowski, who won the Midpoint Series Award at last year's Beats Television Association in Tallinn for the comedy We're Still Here. Set in 1996, we follow Maria, a humble diner owner, who is chosen to cater a banquet for Margaret Thatcher. Śmiechowski explains that in this drama based on real events, "food is not just part of the setting". "It becomes a way to express emotions, class differences, care, ambition and identity. The diner itself becomes a microcosm of a community in transition."
Debut from Basque director Joana Moya, produced by Sirimiri Films' Stabiliz Ursula, Berlinale-winning director of 20,000 species of bees. Against a landscape formed by an iron mine, this film examines the relationship between nature, memory and human exploitation. Winner of the Ikusmira Berriak Prize in San Sebastian 2025.
"My 19-year-old Grandmother" ("Moya 19-richna Babtsya", Victoria Zadorska, Ukraine, Lithuania, Czech Republic)
Produced by Olena Yershova for Tattoo Films, in co-production with Magic Films of Lithuania and Breathless Films of the Czech Republic. The first film by fantasy author Viktoria Zadorska, in which a retro outfit transports a schoolgirl to 1975 Soviet Ukraine, where she meets her hippie grandparents. "We want to connect three generations of women in two timelines and show what it really costs to trust yourself," Yershova says.
"My world upside down" ("Nikomu to nepoviem", Daniel Rihák, Slovakia)
Feature debut by Rihák, whose short film "The Trip" was shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards. When Miško, a 12-year-old boy from a Slovakian village, discovers his brother is gay, he decides to save him "from hell." But his plan backfires and Miško's world turns upside down. Produced by What If Films.
“Shadows of Summer” (“Suve varjud,” Helen Takkin, Estonia)
"Shadows of Summer" deals with the sensitive and deeply relatable themes of power dynamics, bullying and co-dependency, says producer Elizabeth Madison of Nafta Films. "By interweaving today's participatory theater performance with the events of 16 years ago, the film gradually dissolves the boundaries between reality and cinematic performance, transforming a new approach to cinema into the past and the present. which are both global and urgent today.
“Summer of the Moth” (“Yöperhosen kesä,” Veera Lamminpää, Finland)
Produced by Petri Kemppinen of Good Hand Production. The story of a grumpy old gardener and a magical butterfly on time travel when an unexpected trip back in time helps them rediscover imagination, trust and hope. "Told through a rare combination of stop-motion animation and live-action, the film combines an engaging sense of humor with layered storytelling," says Campinen.
"Wild Love" (Lukin Mila, Jonas Trokanas, Lithuania, Estonia)
From rising genre talent Trukanas whose breakthrough pic "Pensive" was bought by Cinedigm for their specialized platform Screambox. Produced by Afterschool, behind Lithuania's Oscar hopefuls "Pilgrims," and "Drowning Dry." A joint product of Tallifornia Estonia. "'Wild Love' is a rare Baltic horror satire," say producers Klementina Remeikaitė and Rūta Kiaupaitė. Set on the island of Saaremaa, the film plays on the nostalgia of The Robinsons, the 2000s reality that every Baltic family has watched, and spirals into a zombie outbreak, where the reality show at the heart of the film reflects a world where our sense of what is real changes and truth turns into lies." "Zona" ("Samosioły," Bartosz Brzeziński, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia)
The first directorial production of Zizu Films. An intimate drama set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where a young Ukrainian fugitive takes refuge with an elderly woman and forms an unlikely bond. "The trauma of war is examined through a fresh lens," says Claudia Pachuta, who is producing with Konrad Zagorski and Carol Zagorski, "combining an intimate character study with the haunting backdrop of the Chernobyl wilderness."