Finally returning to a physical format this year, the industry sidebar of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, is ready to showcase 19 new projects in production or post-production, currently on the lookout for sales agents or festivals for international premieres. The titles, helmed by award-winning directors as well as emerging filmmakers and representing a variety of genres, will be presented in the three traditional Works in Progress showcases – International, Baltic Event and Just Film – from 23-24 November. In addition to the live event taking place at the Coca Cola Plaza cinema, the presentations will also be available on the industry.poff.ee website.

Baltic Event Works in Progress will be taking place for the 19th time and will include eight new projects. Talking about this year’s line-up, programme manager of Baltic Event Works in Progress Maria Ulfsak praised its diversity: “We have veteran directors and debuts, comedies and historical dramas on difficult topics, so there are a lot of very different projects of different genres this year. But we are very proud of the fact that five out of the eight films in Baltic Event Works in Progress are directed by talented female directors.” In detail, the regional showcase will see the participation of three Estonian projects: Triin Ruumet’s Dark Paradise [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Triin Ruumet
scheda film], Rain Rannu’s Child Machine and Mart Kivastik’s Stairway to Heaven. Latvia will be represented by three more projects: Linda Olte’s drama Sisters [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (co-produced with Italy), Ināra Kolmane’s historical drama Soviet Milk and Elza Gauja’s road movie Keep Smiling, Mom!. Finally, Lithuania will join proceedings with Parade [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Titas Laucius
scheda film], directed by Titas Laucius and produced by Klementina Remeikaite (the Orizzonti winner Pilgrims [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Laurynas Bareisa
scheda film]).

Meanwhile, the seventh International Works in Progress showcase will feature George Ovashvili’s drama Beautiful Helen (Georgia/Turkey/France), Academy Award nominee Jan Sverak’s Bethlehem Light (Czech Republic/UK), Pyotr Todorovskiy’s drama Intensive Care (Russia), Natalia Sinelnikova’s absurd drama We Might as Well Be Dead [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Natalia Sinelnikova
scheda film] (Germany), Dustin Brown’s drama Solidarity (USA/Lithuania) and Mikel Gurrea’s drama Suro [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mikel Gurrea
scheda film] (Spain).

The jury of the Baltic Event and International Works in Progress will be presided over by Charles Bin (partner and sales manager at Brussels-based international sales outfit Best Friend Forever), Torsten Frehse (CEO and buyer for Neue Visionen and founder of Pluto Film) and Alena Shumakova (programmer of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight). On this occasion, Works in Progress sponsor Asymmetric Studios will award the Asymmetric Studios Best Visual Effects Award to the best project in either the Baltic Event or the International Works in Progress showcases, consisting of a €5,000 cash prize, as well as up to €10,000 in in-kind services.

As at previous editions, the Just Film Works in Progress showcase will focus on children- and youth-orientated projects. The five selected titles are Marta Selecka and Andra Dorss’ BOOM! (Latvia/Estonia), Aglaya Nabatnikova’s Devka-Baba (Russia), Federico Schmukler’s Felipe [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Argentina/Spain/France/Guatemala) Florencia Wehbe’s Paula (Argentina/Italy) and Yana Skopina’s Summer Ends Soon (Russia/Kazakhstan). The jury of this section will include Gloria Morano (head of the Young Audiences Programme at the Luxembourg City Film Festival), Joe Ursell (curation manager at the UK’s Into Film) and Alasdair Satchel (a film and theatre artist and film educator). The best project will receive a €1,000 cash prize to cover promotion and publicity expenses.

Here is the full list of selected titles:

Baltic Event Works in Progress

Child Machine – Rain Rannu (Estonia)
Producers: Tõnu Hiielaid, Rain Rannu
Production company: Tallifornia

Dark Paradise [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Triin Ruumet
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Producer: Elina Litvinova
Co-producer: Jeremy Forni
Production companies: Three Brothers, Chevaldeuxtrois

Keep Smiling, Mom! – Elza Gauja (Latvia)
Producers: Andris Gauja, Elza Gauja, Marta Bite
Production company: Riverbed

Light Light Light – Inari Niemi (Finland)
Producer: Oskari Huttu
Production company: Lucy Loves Drama Oy

Parade [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Titas Laucius
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Producer: Klementina Remeikaite
Production company: afterschool production

Sisters [+leggi anche:
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trailer
scheda film] – Linda Olte (Latvia/Italy)
Producers: Matiss Kaza, Una Celma, Dace Siatkovska
Co-producers: Thomas Menghin, Wilfried Gufler, Debora Nischler
Production companies: Fenixfilm, Albolina Film

Soviet Milk – Ināra Kolmane (Latvia)
Producers: Jānis Juhņēvičs, Marta Romanova-Jēkabsone
Production company: Film Studio DEVIŅI

Stairway to Heaven – Mart Kivastik (Estonia)
Producers: Marju Lepp, Manfred Vainokivi
Production company: Filmivabrik

International Works in Progress

Beautiful Helen – George Ovashvili (Georgia/Turkey/France)
Producer: George Ovashvili
Co-producers: Mesut Ulutaş, Guillaume de Seille
Production company: Wagonnet Films (Georgia)

Bethlehem Light – Jan Sverak (Czech Republic/UK)
Producer: Jan Sverak
Co-producer: Eric Abraham
Production companies: Biograf Jan Sverak, Portobello Productions, Czech Television

Intensive Care – Pyotr Todorovskiy (Russia)
Producers: Valeriy Fedorovich, Evgeniy Nikishov
Production company: 1-2-3 Production

Solidarity – Dustin Brown (USA/Lithuania)
Producers: Dustin Brown, Daniel Dreifuss
Co-producers: Daniel Leighton, Kaiulani Bush, Mantas Valantiejus
Production companies: Dustin Todd Films, Midnight Lantern Productions

Suro [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mikel Gurrea
scheda film] – Mikel Gurrea (Spain)
Producers: Laura Rubirola, Sergi Moreno, Tono Folguera, Clàudia Maluenda, Xabi Berzosa
Production companies: Lastor Media, Malmo Pictures, Irusoin

We Might as Well Be Dead [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Natalia Sinelnikova
scheda film] – Natalia Sinelnikova (Germany)
Producer: Julia Wagner
Co-producer: Magdalena Wolff
Production companies: HEARTWAKE Films, Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Just Film Works in Progress

Boom! – Marta Selecka and Andra Dorss (Latvia/Estonia)
Producers: Ugis Riekstins, Elina Zazerska
Production company: Picture house

Devka-Baba – Aglaya Nabatnikova (Russia)
Producer: Victoria Lupik
Production company: Anniko Films

Felipe [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Federico Schmukler (Argentina/Spain/France/Guatemala)
Producer: Julieta Sánchez Sananez
Co-producers: Carlo D’Ursi Fortunato, Jayro Bustamante, Gustavo Matheu Paredes, Georges Renand
Production companies: Brujas Producciones, Potenza Producciones, La casa de producción, Les films du volcan

Paula – Florencia Wehbe (Argentina/Italy)
Producers: Fernanda Rocca, Claudio Esposito
Production companies: Bombilla Cine, The Piranesi Experience

Summer Ends Soon – Yana Skopina (Russia/Kazakhstan)
Producers: Ardak Kassymbek, Yerkezhan Maksut, Tamara Bogdanova
Production companies: KINOKULT, UVENT Production