The 14th edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF) has announced the short-film projects set to be pitched to an international panel of experts at the gathering, which will take place in Vilnius from 6-9 October. Over the years, the BPF has established itself as one of the leading industry platforms in the Baltic region, offering filmmakers the opportunity to receive advice and feedback from a wide range of international film professionals.

This year’s Estonian selection includes Blue Tower by Mari Koff (produced by Sergo Kibus and Kadriann Kibus), an animation about two characters struggling to strike and maintain a fragile balance before chaos exposes their hidden sides. Smart Men by Liina Särkinen (produced by Kirill Volkov) revolves around lonely widows, AI husbands and the flesh-and-blood man who disrupts their fragile coexistence. Completing the Estonian line-up is A Working Mother by Hanna-Mirtel Paas, a fiction project following a burnt-out mother who escapes her family life, only to rediscover herself in solitude.

The Latvian projects on offer include Mara’s House by Egija Smeile (produced by Tabita Paula Avotiņa and Matīss Kaža), in which a mother’s 55th birthday descends into a grotesque and absurd family nightmare. Seeing John Malkovich by Ildze Felsberga sees the arrival of a faded Hollywood star spark rumours, intrigue and absurdity in Riga. The Latvian selection is rounded off by Bacon Bun by Žanete Skarule (produced by Dominiks Jarmakovičs), which follows a boy whose search for belonging leads to painful consequences.

Lithuania will be represented by three animated projects. The Phonebook by Nina Chubinishvili (produced by Giedrė Burokaitė) is a portrait of ageing and loneliness centred on a grandmother who watches her circle of friends slowly disappear. Walks. I Love, Therefore I Am by Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė (produced by Justė Beniušytė) is a mixed-media animation exploring memory, resistance and the legacy of Lithuanian librarian, humanist and rescuer of Jews Ona Šimaitė. Meanwhile, Meat Jelly by Emilė Maigytė (produced by Marija Lenkutytė-Bartoševič and Agnė Adomėnė) follows a young woman confronting her relationship with her body as she moves between past and present on a path towards self-acceptance and healing.

Guest country Italy will bring three projects to Vilnius. Creature! by Irene Dionisio (produced by Emanuele Segre) is a fiction film dealing with childhood, death and grief as well as the fragile boundary separating reality from imagination. Melting by Andrea Grasselli (produced by Gianluca Rossi) is described as a poetic, experimental journey through glaciers, mythology and ecological disaster, examining the fragile relationship between humans and ice. Finally, The Belly of the Whale by Niccolò Salvato (produced by Mara Crăcăleanu) tells the story of a young Senegalese immigrant confronting trauma, homesickness and violence in Milan.

The BPF programme will kick off in September with individual online screenplay consultations led by Polish scriptwriting consultant Anna Bielak. During the October gathering, participants will further develop their pitching skills through dedicated training sessions and attend open lectures with industry professionals before presenting their projects to an international panel of experts, who will offer feedback and select the winning entries. Further details on the attending experts and lecture programme will be unveiled in mid-September.

The Baltic Pitching Forum is organised by the Lithuanian short film agency Lithuanian Shorts. The event is partly financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Vilnius City Municipality, the Audiovisual Works Copyright Association AVAKA and Baltisches Haus. Associated partners include the Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Riga IFF, the Latvian Short Film Agency and PÖFF Shorts. Other partners include the Creative Europe – MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Italy, the Italian Short Film Center, the Estonian Film Institute, the Embassy of Italy in Lithuania, the ShorTO Film Market, the European Short Film Co-production Forum Euro Connection, UP Records and the Baltic Talent Agency.

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

Estonia

Blue Tower – Mari Koff
Producers: Sergo Kibus, Kadriann Kibus

A Working Mother – Hanna-Mirtel Paas

Smart Men – Liina Särkinen
Producer: Kirill Volkov

Latvia

Seeing John Malkovich – Ildze Felsberga

Bacon Bun – Žanete Skarule
Producer: Dominiks Jarmakovičs

Mara’s House – Egija Smeile
Producers: Tabita Paula Avotiņa, Matīss Kaža

Lithuania

The Phonebook – Nina Chubinishvili
Producer: Giedrė Burokaitė

Meat Jelly – Emilė Maigytė
Producers: Marija Lenkutytė-Bartoševič, Agnė Adomėnė

Walks. I Love, Therefore I Am – Gintarė Valevičiūtė-Brazauskienė
Producer: Justė Beniušytė

Italy

Creature! – Irene Dionisio
Producer: Emanuele Segre

Melting – Andrea Grasselli
Producer: Gianluca Rossi

The Belly of the Whale – Niccolò Salvato
Producer: Mara Crăcăleanu