10/10/2025 - This year’s edition celebrated Baltic and Hungarian talent, reaffirming Vilnius as the key hub for short-film development in the region

The winners of the 13th Baltic Pitching Forum (© Tautvydas Stukas)

The 13th edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF, 7-10 October) once again welcomed promising filmmaking talents to Vilnius. This year’s line-up featured participants from the Baltic countries and Hungary, which joined as the guest country.

Pitching 12 projects to key industry players – as well as taking part in a series of talks, lectures and training sessions – the filmmakers benefited from an event that continues to be regarded as the most important short-film industry gathering in the region.

The Lithuanian animated project Bobo, directed by Tauras Čeledinas and Lukas Naraškevičius, and produced by Justė Michailinaitė, was awarded an invitation to the 2026 European Short Film Co-Production Forum Euro Connection, held as part of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. “The art of pitching is a hard one,” the panel said, “but when you find the perfect balance between a strong concept, appealing artistry, a solid producer and a fun duo of directors, magic happens. We hope this project and its little mascot will find partners in Euro Connection to bring what promises to be an amazing short film to the next step, and the end of their jazzy journey.”

Meanwhile, the Estonian animated project Mutation, helmed by Liisi Grünberg and staged by Aurelia Aasa, received an invitation to the 2025 ShorTO Film Market and its pitching session, You Only Pitch Twice. The jury praised “a women-led team, made up of a promising young animator with a unique creative sensibility and a strong – and very well-dressed – producer who we know will take care of the project until its successful completion.”

The Baltic Producers Jury MEDIA Award – initiated by the Creative Europe Desks in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and accompanied by a €1,000 cash prize – went to the Lithuanian fiction project Last Curonian Cow, directed by Dovydas Drakšas and produced by Greta Akcijonaitė. The jury described it as “a poetic and thought-provoking exploration of an urgent issue, told through the unique and tender perspective of an innocent being. It offers a profound meditation on our intrusive reshaping of the natural ecosystem, fuelled by over-tourism.”

The same project also picked up the newly introduced Riga IFF Award, which grants an invitation to the Short Riga Test Screenings in 2026 or 2027.

A Special Mention from the Baltic Producers Jury went to the Hungarian hybrid project Sun in Retrograde, directed by Adél Szegedi and produced by Barnabás Tóth-Justh, Viki Réka Kiss, Patricia D'Intino and Eszter Knopp. The jury said the film stood out “for its daring blend of love and loneliness, and its fearless exploration of new cinematic forms”.

For the second year in a row, Up Records – a Vilnius-based sound post-production studio – presented its Sound Post-production Award, consisting of services worth €2,000. The accolade went to the aforementioned Sun in Retrograde.

Next, the Radiator IP Sales Distribution Award, which includes consultancy and distribution guidance, was also given to Bobo. Radiator founder Ben Vandendaele said he was “thrilled to recognise this charming team whose witty presence and refreshingly funny pitch had me hooked from the start. After impressive careers in marketing, Tauras and Lukas, together with producer Justė, are clearly eager to dive into the short-film industry – bringing a bold mix of creativity, humour and heartfelt storytelling.”

The Baltic Film Students’ Mention, initiated by the National Film School of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and the National Film School of the Latvian Academy of Culture, was awarded to the Lithuanian animated project The Pigeon of Our Time, directed by Agata Tracevič and Edita Rudak, and produced by Marija Lenkutytė-Bartoševič and Giedrė Burokaitė.

The winners of the Euro Connection and ShorTO Film Market prizes were selected by Elena Ciofalo (ShorTO Film Market, Italy), Catherine Colas (ARTE TV, Germany), Inja Korać (Cobra Chicks, Croatia), Valentin Leblanc (Black Boat Pictures, France), Sydney Neter (SND Films, the Netherlands), Julie Rousson (Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market, France), Ben Vandendaele (Radiator IP Sales, Belgium), Millán Vázquez (FREAK Agency, Spain) and Sari Volanen (YLE TV, Finland).

This year’s Baltic Producers Jury was composed of Brigita Beniušytė (M-Films, Lithuania), Andris Gauja (Riverbed, Latvia) and Dóra Nedeczky (Mindwax, Estonia/Hungary).

The Baltic Pitching Forum is organised by the Lithuanian Short Film Agency Lithuanian Shorts, and financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Vilnius City Municipality, the Audiovisual Works Copyright Association AVAKA and Baltisches Haus. Associated partners include the Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, the Riga International Film Festival, the Latvian Short Film Agency, PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival) and the Estonian Film Institute. Other partners are the Creative Europe - MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the Italian Short Film Center, the Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival and the Vilnius Film Office.

The 2026 edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum will run from 6-9 October.

Here is the full list of this year’s winning projects:

Invitation to Euro Connection
Bobo – Tauras Čeledinas, Lukas Naraškevičius (Lithuania)
Producer: Justė Michailinaitė

Invitation to ShorTO Film Market
Mutation – Liisi Grünberg (Estonia)
Producer: Aurelia Aasa

Baltic Producers MEDIA Award
Last Curonian Cow – Dovydas Drakšas (Lithuania)
Producer: Greta Akcijonaitė

Baltic Producers Jury Special Mention
Sun in Retrograde – Adél Szegedi (Hungary)
Producers: Barnabás Tóth-Justh, Viki Réka Kiss, Patricia D'Intino, Eszter Knopp

Riga IFF Award (Short Riga Test Screenings)
Last Curonian Cow – Dovydas Drakšas

Up Records Sound Post-production Award
Sun in Retrograde – Adél Szegedi

Radiator IP Sales Distribution Award
Bobo – Tauras Čeledinas, Lukas Naraškevičius

Baltic Film Students’ Mention
The Pigeon of Our Time – Agata Tracevič, Edita Rudak (Lithuania)
Producers: Marija Lenkutytė-Bartoševič, Giedrė Burokaitė