Baltic Pitching Forum reveals slate of projects for 2025 edition 

Leading film industry event, to be held in Vilnius from 7-10 October 2025, reveals the 12 short film projects from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and – guest country – Hungary that will pitch. The Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF) has announced the short film projects that will be pitched to a panel of international experts at its 13th edition, which runs from 7-10 October 2025 in Vilnius. The BPF is considered one of the leading events in the Baltics for showcasing emerging and talented filmmakers from the Baltic and beyond, giving them invaluable industry advice and experience from a number of industry professionals in attendance. 

Projects from Estonia will include Decay of Strawberry Moon (dir. Maroš Pulščák, prod. Henry Laasalu), a drama in which a freshly broken-up couple experience the fading of their love during strawberry picking season, and Maie and Mummi (dir. Kadri-Maria Külaots, prod. Kerdi Oengo), a magical animation which sees the director adapt her own award-winning children’s book about the activities she did with her grandparents. The Estonian selection is rounded out by Mutation (dir. Liisi Grünberg, prod. Aurelia Aasa), a dark-humoured animation about Jaan, who dreams of a perfect apple orchard. 

The chosen Latvian projects are The Toast (dir. Žanete Skarule, prod. Antra Cilinska-Dombrovska), a drama about a woman who finds herself faced with a moral dilemma at her younger sister's engagement dinner,  Velta (dir. Dan Silov, prod. Nadīna Anna Larionova), the emotional story of an elderly man searching for his late wife’s grave, and When Ripples Meet (dir. Rūta Ronja Pakalne, prod. Antra Gaile, Līga Gaisa), in which a young woman comes out of her shell during a dance residency.

From Lithuania comes Bobo (dir. Tauras Čeledinas, prod. Justė Michailinaitė), a children’s animation about a depressed dog who discovers his jazz idol is playing in a distant seaside town, Last Curonian Cow (dir. Dovydas Drakšas), a fiction film in which Juzė, the last remaining cow in the Curonian Spit, embarks on a journey through a land that is becoming increasingly alien to her, and The Pigeon of Our Time (dir. Agata Tracevič, Edita Rudak, prod. Marija Lenkutytė-Bartoševič, Giedrė Burokaitė), a surreal animation in which our protagonist heads on a mundane journey, walking through a community that knows him and despises him.

The BPF’s guest country Hungary will be represented by 72 (dir. Nóra Horváth, prod. Anna Bartók), a powerful drama about a young woman on the social and geographic margins who fights for control over her own body, Purity (dir. Vilmos Heim, prod. András Soós, Gábor Osváth), a fiction film which sees a sports team spiral into a self-destructive regime of purification and control, and Sun in Retrograde (dir. Adél Szegedi, prod. Barnabás Tóth-Justh) a hybrid of animation and live-action which is a romantic drama set in post-pandemic Budapest - told in reverse. 

You can find out more about the selected projects HERE.

For participants with projects, the Baltic Pitching Forum will kick off in September with participants taking part in individual online consultations concerning their short film scripts with scriptwriting consultant Anna Bielak (Poland). During the main event in October, participants will engage in pitching training and attend open lectures by industry representatives. They will also present their projects to a panel of industry experts, who will provide feedback and select the winning projects. Further details on the attending experts and lectures will be announced in mid-September.

Projects originating from the Baltic region will have the opportunity to win participant rights at two industry events: the European Short Film Co-production Forum EURO CONNECTION, which is a part of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France), and ShorTO Film Market and its initiative “You only Pitch Twice” (Italy). In addition, one project will be awarded with a Baltic Producers MEDIA Award (1000 €), initiated by the Creative Europe MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The partners of the Forum will give additional prizes: a Sound Post-Production Award – a prize of sound post-production services valued at 2000 €, established by Up Records studio (Lithuania), and The Radiator IP Sales Distribution Award, which consists of the consultancy and guidance of the filmmakers in creating a bridge between the production and the actual distribution of film festivals and beyond. Additional awards will be revealed as the event approaches.

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