Estonian director Vallo Toomla is prepping his new feature, titled Beatrice and adapted from Siret Campbell’s acclaimed play of the same name. The screenplay is penned by Małgorzata Pilacińska and Toomla himself, with the project currently at the financing stage and with a tentative release set for 2027.

The story follows Kristi and Tom, who, after years of trying for a child, are finally expecting – until a tragic accident claims Kristi’s life. Months later, Tom agrees to an experimental procedure: Kristi’s consciousness is implanted into a new body. The reunited couple must negotiate intimacy, love and parenthood in a reality where everything feels altered. At its heart, Beatrice is a poignant exploration of identity, grief and whether love can survive transformation, set against the backdrop of a climate-driven migration crisis.

Producer Evelin Penttilä recalls her first encounter with the material: “Beatrice is adapted from an award-winning stage play by Estonian playwright Siret Campbell. I was instantly drawn to bringing it to the screen when I first read about it in a newspaper in 2018. It also gave me the chance to collaborate with talented Estonian director Vallo Toomla, whose student shorts I had admired years earlier.

“Together with screenwriter Małgorzata Pilacińska, we have shaped it into a love story and a search for identity, set against the backdrop of a climate-driven migration crisis – themes that touch us all. I’m delighted that we now have Lithuanian financing secured, and look forward to closing the remaining funding and bringing this story to audiences,” she continues.

Toomla, whose debut feature, Pretenders [+lire aussi :
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The project has already gained international attention through major industry platforms, including TorinoFilmLab Next and When East Meets West 2025. It is currently being pitched at the Nordic Co-Production Market, hosted by Haugesund’s Norwegian International Film Festival (16-22 August).

Stellar Film, established in 2015 and led by Penttilä and Johanna Maria Paulson, is one of Estonia’s most prominent outfits. Its portfolio ranges from fiction features to documentaries and TV series, often blending genres and pushing boundaries. Notable works include The Sleeping Beast [+lire aussi :
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Beatrice is being produced by Penttilä and Johanna Maria Tamm for Stellar Film (Estonia), in co-production with Giovanni Pompili for Kino Produzioni (Italy), Aleksi Bardy for Oxymoron Imagination (Finland) and Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė for Just a Moment (Lithuania). The film has so far secured backing from the Estonian Film Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, Creative Europe – MEDIA, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission and the Lithuanian Film Centre. The budget is set at €2.5 million, with shooting locations still to be confirmed. The film will be shot in Estonian and Italian.