Baltic Sea Docs announces its digital programme
- The 24th edition of the leading documentary training and pitching event is ready to welcome 24 film projects and 5 docu-series in its upcoming online version
Running mostly in a digital format, the 24th edition of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries is ready to unspool from 29 August to 6 September. As every year, Baltic Sea Docs, the leading documentary training and pitching event in the Baltic countries, will gather filmmakers from the region, the Eastern Europe and the countries of the Caucasus.
A total of 24 film projects hailing from 16 countries are participating, with their representatives attending a preparatory workshop, a series of pitching sessions and an individual meeting with documentary experts.
Zane Balčus, project manager of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries commented: “This is going to be a very different edition. The most difficult thing at this point is to change our mindset as almost all the events will be online, and we will see most of the participants and guests only through small screens, not physically in Riga. But we still intend to convey the event’s identity, even in a digital environment, thus we are creating a Baltic Sea Docs studio in Riga for moderators to work from. I do hope that this online edition will be as rewarding and as helpful to participants in going ahead with their projects as the offline one would be — as that is our main objective.”
Moreover, the whole programme of Baltic Sea Docs has been stretched over a longer period, with more tutors working with the projects in individual sessions during the workshop. Nine tutors, documentary film consultants Tue Steen Müller and Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), film director and producer Péter Kerekes (Slovakia), film director Emma Davie (Scotland), film director and producer Audrius Stonys (Lithuania), deputy director of sales and acquisition company First Hand Films Gitte Hansen (Switzerland), director and producer Nino Orjonikidze (Georgia), film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden), and film director and screenwriter Diana El Jeiroudi (Syria/Germany), will prepare the participants’ presentations for the pitching sessions that will run from 3-4 September. Representatives from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), where travelling is not restricted, will do their presentations in Riga, while the other teams will join online.
Among the decision makers attending the pitches are TV channels, sales and distribution companies including Cat & Docs (France), Syndicado (Canada), Taskovski Films (UK), BBC (UK), NHK (Japan), EER (Estonia), LTV (Latvia), YLE (Finland), Arte (France), Current Time TV (USA), Al Jazeera (Qatar), and others. The projects are vying for the Baltic Sea Docs Awards which include editing consultancy, the Current Time TV Award of €2,500 in cash, the DAE Award that includes impact campaign consultancy, and the BB Post House Award including post-production services valued at €3,000.
Furthermore, on 2 September, a seminar on developing successful factual TV series will be organised, presented by Elina Pohjola from Citizen Jane Productions, Finland, in partnership with Creative Europe Media Offices of Latvia and Slovenia. The seminar is one of the initiatives of the new East Doc Series of the Institute of Documentary Film, which aims to assist the filmmakers of Central and Eastern Europe in developing documentary series and reaching international markets. Five docu-series projects have been selected for the first East Doc Series event at Baltic Sea Docs, while the following events will be held during East Doc Platform in Prague in spring and conclude at Sunny Side of the Doc next summer.
Moreover, for the fourth consecutive year and in partnership with Artdocfest, a festival and industry platform for independent filmmakers from the former Soviet Union, 10 projects from the region will be pitched during Baltic Sea Docs.
Finally, two masterclasses, available to both forum participants and accredited guest, will be organised and held by Lithuanian director and producer Audrius Stonys (31 August) and Latvian producer Uldis Cekulis (1 September), both moderated by Tue Steen Müller.
Baltic Sea Docs is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia with financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the Creative Europe Media programme, and the Riga City Council.
Here is the complete list of selected projects at the 24th Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries:
Age – Gustav Ågerstrand, Anders Teigen, Åsa Ekman, Oscar Hedin (Sweden)
Producers: Oscar Hedin, Marina-Evelina Cracana (Film and Tell)
Artem and Eva – Evgeny Milykh (Russia/France/Estonia)
Producers: Yevgeny Gindilis (TVINDIE), Rebecca Houzel (Petit à Petit Production), Max Tuula (Marx Film), Maria Gavrilova
Atonal Glow [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Alexander Koridze (Georgia)
Producer: Alexander Koridze (Spark)
Blind Pit – Federico Schiavi, Giorgio Bianchi (Italy/Latvia)
Producers: Federico Schiavi (Nacne sas), Ieva Ūbele (Baltic Balkan Productions)
Courage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aliaksei Paluyan and Jörn M…
film profile] – Aliaksei Paluyan (Belarus/Germany)
Producers: Jörn Möllenkamp (Living Pictures Production GbR), Mikalai Laureniuk (Illusion Film Company)
Diary of a Bride of Christ [+see also:
film review
interview: Marta Smerechynska
film profile] – Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine)
Producer: Natalia Libet (DGTL RLGN)
Experts of Love – Eva Kübar (Estonia)
Producer: Maimik Andres (Moonwalker Films / Kuukulgur Film)
Fight – Lilit Movsisyan (Armenia/France)
Producers: Sona Margaryan, Inessa Mkrtchyan (MOTIF FILMS), Amelia Sarmento, Clara Cawczak (Vie Des Hauts Production)
The Girls of 1960 – Una Celma (Latvia)
Producer: Matiss Kaza (Fenixfilm)
Home Is Where the Films Are – More Raca (Kosovo)
Producer: More Raca (Arena, 39films)
The Land – Ivars Seleckis (Latvia)
Producers: Gints Grūbe, Elīna Gediņa – Ducena (Mistrus Media)
Life After Death – Nerijus Milerius (Lithuania)
Producer: Stasys Baltakis (Film Jam)
Life of Ivanna [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Renato Borrayo Serrano (Russia/Norway/Finland)
Producers: Vladislav Ketkovich (Ethnofund Film Company), Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas (Ten Thousand Images), Petrri Vijalainen (Illume Oy)
Love in the Time of Corona – Virginija Vareikyte, Maximilien Dejoie (Lithuania/Italy)
Producer: Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė (Just a moment)
Nina Gets Married – Andrzej Szypulski (Poland)
Producers: Marta Duzbabel, Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska (Pinot Films)
Nord Express – Kārlis Lesiņš (Latvia/Estonia)
Producers: Gints Grūbe, Elīna Gediņa – Ducena (Mistrus Media, Allfilm)
Podnieks On Podnieks – Anna Viduleja (Latvia)
Producer: Antra Cilinska (JURIS PODNIEKS STUDIO)
Shut the Fuck Up! – Taisiia Kutuzova (Ukraine/France)
Producers: Stephane Siohan (Digital Religion), Olga Beskhmelnytsina (East Roads Films)
Sunny [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Keti Machavariani (Georgia)
Producer: Nato Sikharulidze (Terra Incognita Films, Sunny Films)
The Trans Syrian Express – Alina Rudnitskaya (Finland/Russia/Poland)
Producers: Pertti Veijalainen (Illume Ltd), Sergey Vinokurov (317-Films), Dorota Roszkowska (ARKANA)
Underling In Bird Kingdom – Marko Raat (Estonia)
Producer: Ivo Felt (Allfilm)
Waitersgate – Konrad Szolajski (Poland/Norway)
Producers: Malgorzata Prociak (ZK Studio), Ingvild Aagedal Skage (Isme Film)
We Are Animals – Saila Kivelä, Vesa Kuosmanen (Finland)
Producers: Elli Toivoniemi, Venla Hellstedt (Tuffi Films)
When the Harmattan Blows – Edyta Wroblewska (Poland)
Producers: Marta Duzbabel, Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska (Pinot Films)
East Doc Series
Prophet of Doom – Nikolai Galitzine (Poland/Russia/Spain/Ireland)
Producers: Łukasz Długołęcki (NUR), Haukur Hrafnsson (NUR), Andrew Revkin
Co-producers: Artem Vasiliev (METRAFILMS), Asya Pavlovskaya (METRAFILMS)
Queen of Chess – Bernadett Tuza-Ritter (Hungary/Germany)
Producers: Gabor Harmi, László Józsa (Speak Easy Project), Peter Stern
Co-producer: Heino Deckert (Deckert Distribution GmbH)
Slumbering Concrete (season 3) – Saša Ban (Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia)
Producer: Dana Budisavljević (HULAHOP)
Tin Can Race – Boris Missirkov, Georgi Bogdanov (Bulgaria)
Producer: Martichka Bozhilova (AGITPROP)
Villages of Light – Margit Lillak (Estonia)
Producer: Volia Chajkouskaya (Allfilm)
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