Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (Baltic Sea Docs) has concluded the project selection for its 26th edition that will run on 5-11 September. The most important documentary training and pitching event in the Baltic countries, Baltic Sea Docs is focused on projects from the wider Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe and Caucasus region. The 18 selected projects represent film studios in 8 countries, including Poland, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Germany, and Ukraine.
After two online editions, Baltic Sea Docs will return to the in-person event in Riga, an online component will also remain part of the event with some of the participants and guests joining virtually. The Baltic Sea Docs will have an industry section running September 5-9 and a film program for local audiences to be held in an arthouse cinema in Riga and regional towns September 5-11. Industry activities will consist of a workshop, pitching sessions, and individual meetings, as well as a discussion on mental health in the documentary industry organized by Creative Europe Desk Latvia.
The film projects to be presented in Baltic Sea Docs 2022 tackle the topics of coming of age and environmental activism, craving for eternal life, the struggle for social acceptance, female rights, and creative personalities among other themes. Baltic Sea Docs 2022 will be welcoming several projects from Ukraine, focusing on people during the war-torn country, and a few more productions exploring the nearby war experience in the neighboring countries.
The selected projects are:
Abandoned – Lithuania / ŪKŲ STUDIJA
Director Vytautas Puidokas; Producer Rūta Jakentaitė
Becoming Roosi – Estonia / Tiny Desk Productions
Director Margit Lillak; Producer Karolina Veetamm
The Blessed Ones – Ukraine / MaGiKa Film, VFS Films (Latvia)
Director Andrii Lysetskyi, Producers Gennady Kofman, Olga Beskhmelnytsina, Uldis Cekulis
Boxes from Georgia – Georgia / Millimeter Film
Director Gvantsa Meparishvili; Producer Tiko Nadirashvili
Death of Death – Latvia / Ego Media
Director Dāvis Sīmanis; Producer Guntis Trekteris
FCL – The Fabulous Cow Ladies – Finland / Sahadok
Director, producer Mia Halme
The Guest – Poland / Pleasnar & Krauss Films
Directors Michał Bielawski, Zvika Portnoy, Zuzanna Solakiewicz; Producer Maria Krauss
A Hole in the Wall – Poland / UNI-SOLO Studio
Director Arjun Talwar; Producer Karolina Śmigiel
How to Fix Yourself – Latvia / Mistrus Media
Director Armands Začs; Producer Gints Grūbe
I Look Like My Mother – Germany / Schuldenberg Films
Director Amina Maher; Producer Fabian Altenried
In the Name of Honor – Georgia / Millimeter Film
Director Gvantsa Meparishvili; Producer Tiko Nadirashvili
Iron Man – Ukraine / Naive
Director Maryna Nikolcheva; Producer Oleksandra Kravchenko
The Last Will – Latvia / Ego Media
Director Jānis Ābele; Producers Guntis Trekteris, Dita Birkenšteina
Little People – Ukraine / Babylon’13
Director Ivan Sautkin; Producer Elena Saulich
My Family and Other Clowns – Estonia / Silmviburlane
Directors: Heilika Pikkov, Liina Särkinen; Producer: Ülo Pikkov
Part of Society – Georgia / ArtWay Film
Director Rati Tsiteladze; Producer Olga Slusareva
Požerskis: In Focus – Lithuania / Broom Films
Director Joris Skudra; Producer Justė Michailinaitė
Until the Wedding – Poland / Kiosk Films
Director Daniel Stopa; Producer Anna Huth
Prior to the public pitching sessions, project teams will be provided with training opportunities to enhance their project presentations. The tutors of Baltic Sea Docs this year will be the documentary film consultants Tue Steen Müller and Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), producer Dagne Vildžiunate (Lithuania), film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden), and others.
Film project pitching sessions will take place on 8-9 September. The projects will be presented to a panel of decision makers representing TV channels, sales and distribution companies such as YLE (Finland), CTV (Czech Republic), LTV (Latvia), Cat & Docs (France), Taskovski Films (UK), and others.
Baltic Sea Docs is organized by the National Film Centre of Latvia and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and State Culture Capital Foundation. More information about the selected film projects and the event is available on the Baltic Sea Docs website: http://balticseadocs.lv/industry/
Established in 1997 in Denmark, Baltic Sea Docs has been held in Riga since 2006. Every year forum gathers around 150 documentary film professionals from over 20 countries, and it serves as an important meeting hub for the documentary filmmakers from the countries of the Baltic sea region, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and beyond.
Information prepared by:
Zane Balčus
Project Manager of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries
National Film Centre of Latvia
balticforum@nkc.gov.lv
+371 26054287