Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (Baltic Sea Docs) has finalized the project selection for its 27th edition, scheduled to take place on September 3-10, focussing on projects from the wider Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Baltic Sea Docs is held in Riga and is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia.
Every year the forum gathers around 150 documentary film professionals from over 20 countries and serves as an important meeting hub for docmakers from the region and far beyond.
The selection includes 20 new projects to be presented for the first time and four projects in the forum’s new “Coming Soon” session, featuring projects at post-production stage that have previously been pitched at other Baltic Sea Docs editions. The 24 selected projects represent film studios from 11 countries, including Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Estonia, and Georgia.
“This year, Baltic Sea Docs will offer a broader programme of industry activities. We are pleased to follow up on and promote several projects from previous editions that are now approaching their premieres, and to encourage further strengthening of ties between Baltic and other European producers,” confirm organisers.
Specific attention is given to documentaries from the Baltic countries. “We also note numerous strong submissions from Ukraine this year, reflecting the filmmakers’ sensitive approach to current events in the country after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Using different cinematic approaches, these projects explore various topics including direct experiences of war (Another Man’s Diary), the impact of warfare on the environment (Divia), imprint on the fate of people (Eros and Thanatos), and the significance of film archives as essential memory institutions (Archive. Box#64). Overall, we are delighted to see both experienced and emerging filmmakers among the selected participants,” comments Zane Balčus, Head of Baltic Sea Docs.
The Baltic Sea Docs pitching sessions are scheduled for September 7-8. Prior to the pitch, the new project teams will work on their presentations with a team of international industry experts. This year’s tutor team includes experienced documentary film consultant Tue Steen Müller, doc developer Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), directors Salomé Jashi (Georgia) and Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine), film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden), and producer Simon Kilmurry (USA).
The projects will be presented to a panel of decision-makers representing TV channels, sales and distribution companies such as BBC (UK), YLE (Finland), NHK (Japan), Rise and Shine (Germany), Lightdox (Switzerland), filmdelights (Austria), Cat&Docs (France), and others, organisers underline.
This year’s event will also host Travelling Docs, an initiative organized by the Creative Europe MEDIA desks which offers additional industry activities at a different documentary event each year. ‘Travelling Docs. Share Your Stories’ will be a networking activity aimed to facilitate connections between Baltic and other European documentary producers. Additionally, the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk of Latvia will offer a seminar on the phenomenon of a documentary approach in fiction films.
Organisers note how, among the 20 new projects participating, two have been invited to Baltic Sea Docs as a result of collaboration with other industry platforms. Divia by Dmytro Hreshko, which explores the impact of war and Russian aggression on nature and ecology of Ukraine, was invited after the B2B Doc Visegrad Pitch at East Doc Platform in Prague. Eros and Thanatos (director Dmytro Tiazhlov), a project about the creative journey of two unconventional Ukrainian musicians, was selected from the CineDOC-Tbilisi mentoring programme.
Prizes
The forum will continue its collaboration with Current Time TV, a leading broadcaster focusing on the region, which will present a cash award to one project. Over the next two years, the forum will also present IDFA’s Spotlight award, which includes participation, travel, and accommodation for the director who will be invited to IDFA’s next edition and participate in a tailored program within the IDFA Industry and training activities. The Baltic Sea Docs award will involve mentoring. The complete list of awards will be announced prior to the start of the event.
The 20 new projects selected for Baltic Sea Docs:
- Another Man’s Diary | Ukraine, dir. Olexandr Tkachenko | prod. Illia Gladshtein | Phalanstery Films
- Archive. Box#64 | Ukraine, dir. Eva Dzhyshyashvili | prod. Natalia Libet | 2Brave Productions
- Artworks in Agony | Latvia / Lithuania, dir. Elizabete Gricmane, Ramune Rakauskaite | prod. Uldis Cekulis, Paula Jansone, Arunas Matelis | VFS Films / Studio Nominum
- Brothers in the Hunt | Latvia, dir. Ieva Ozolina | prod. Madara Melberga | Fa Filma
- Cecilia’s Project | Poland / Sweden, dir. Edward Porembny | prod. Edward Porembny, Magnus Paulsson | AMP Polska Edward Porembny / Solid Entertainment AB
- Divia | Ukraine / Poland, dir. Dmytro Hreshko | prod. Polina Herman, Glib Lukianets | UP UA STUDIO / Gogol Film
- Eros and Thanatos | Ukraine, dir. Dmytro Tiazhlov | prod. Ella Shtyka | Indie Media Polis
- The First Swallow | Georgia, dir. Joanna Roj, Sandro Wysocki | prod. Glib Lukianets | Gogol Film
- House of Ants | Poland, dir. Katarzyna Kultys | prod. Adam Ślesicki | FILM FRAME
- How to Talk to Lydia? | Germany / Moldova, dir. Rusudan Gaprindashvili | prod. Hans Gralke, Anna Dziapshipa | Black Market Film Production / Sakdoc
- In the Winds of the Icefields (wt) | Estonia, dir. Mihkel Oksmann | prod. Hõbe Ilus | Sui
- The Misfit | Finland, dir. Miikka Poutiainen | prod. Miikka Poutiainen, Sami Salminen | PinkAgency Productions
- Once We Were Heroes | Finland, dir. Oliwia Tonteri | prod. Aino Halonen, Kamil Skałkowski | production company Kompot Ltd / Kalejdoskop Film
- Sacrum and Profanum in Pievenai | Lithuania, dir. Giedrė Beinoriūtė | prod. Jurga Gluskinienė | Monoklis
- Totem | Estonia, dir./prod. Birgit Rosenberg | Door 2 Production
- Vanessa (wt) | Sweden, dir. Åsa Ekman, Martina Iverus, Oscar Hedin | prod. Marina-Evelina Cracana, Oscar Hedin | Film and Tell
- Voice/Over | Czech Republic , dir. Bálint Révész | prod. Radovan Síbrt, Viki Réka Kiss | PINK
- War in Chornobyl | Ukraine, dir. Oleksiy Radynski | prod. Lyuba Knorozok | Kinotron Group
- We Are the Granddaughters Of The Witches You Couldn’t Burn (wt) | Georgia, dir. Mariam Chachia | prod. Sophio Bendiashvili | OpyoDoc / Enkeny Films
- Yalla Yalla | Lithuania, dir. Mindaugas Survila | prod. Giedrė Žickytė | Moonmakers
Projects at the Coming Soon session:
- If Everyone Just Leaves | Sweden, dir. Karin Wegsjö, Nazira Abzalova | prod. Karin Wegsjö | KW produktion ab
- Podnieks on Podnieks. Witness of History | Latvia, dir. Antra Cilinska, Anna Viduleja | prod. Antra Cilinska | Juris Podnieks Studio
- Up In the Air | Ukraine, dir., prod. Oksana Syhareva | Private entrepreneur Syhareva Oksana
- When Harmattan Blows | Poland, dir/prod. Edyta Wróblewska | SK Film Studio
More information about the selected film projects and the event is available on the Baltic Sea Docs website.
