Tallinn Baltic Event Unveils 15 Title-Slate for Co-Production Market

Tallinn’s Baltic Occasion Co-Manufacturing Market  – an business sidebar to the Black Nights Movie Competition – has unveiled solely to Selection the sturdy line up of 15 European titles from 13 nations competing for the hefty €20,000 ($23,200) Eurimages Co-Manufacturing Growth Award.

For the second yr, the lineup additionally takes in movies geared toward children and youth from the Black Nights Movie pageant (PÖFF)’s Simply Movie program.

The slate, accomplished from a report 111 submissions from 44 completely different nations, runs the gamut from debuts works to driving tales from acclaimed administrators. 

“It’s thrilling to see sturdy and numerous voices shaping how tales are being advised throughout Europe, mentioned co-managers Helen Räim and Kärt Väinola who cite the Czech Expertise Vojtěch Strakatý, Venice Orizzonti chosen in 2024 with “After Celebration”, Laura Ferrés, (“The Everlasting Image”), “one among Spain’s most fun rising filmmakers,” and Tudor Giurgiu (“Why Me?“) “one of the vital skilled administrators in Romania.”

The co-honchos additionally underscored the variety of “acquainted names among the many tasks represented each from earlier Co-Manufacturing Markets or different Business@Tallinn sections” equivalent to Spain’s Liliana Torres (a 2024 SXSW winner for “Mamifera”) who attended the Black Nights Movie Competition (aka PÖFF) with “What Went Incorrect” in 2021, or Albania’s Gentian Koçi who showcased “A Cup of Espresso and New Sneakers On” at PÖFF official choice in 2022.

Räim and Väinola additionally emphasised the bigger geographical unfold, permitting for wider co-production alternatives. “Due to the Catalonia Focus and Austrian Highlight, we’re so glad to see potentialities for brand new collaborations between areas, in direction of Southern and Western Europe, the place sturdy inventive and manufacturing bonds are nonetheless being constructed. However we will see that the tales being advised clearly actually assist this method, opening up new alternatives for producers not solely in financing but additionally in reaching new audiences.”

Theme-wise, Väinolain (answerable for the Simply Movie business program), mentioned this yr’s slate “actually mirrors what’s taking place on this planet proper now. The youth and kids’s tasks touched on matters like social media, psychological well being, and coming-of-age tales that didn’t shrink back from life’s harder challenges. Fortunately, there was additionally steadiness. Whereas there have been tales about hardships, there was additionally a powerful give attention to hope, development and overcoming these challenges. So, we had the traditional themes you’d anticipate in kids’s and youth tasks, however with a transparent affect from the realities of immediately’s world.”

Her colleague Räim underlined the general operating thread of “feminine protagonists navigating questions of identification, physique and autonomy. This displays a transparent rise in female-driven storytelling,” she mentioned. “Most of the works additionally have interaction deeply with psychological well being and grief, portraying emotional struggles, melancholy, loss, and therapeutic, usually by refined poetic or surreal tones.”

She went on: “Alongside these intimate considerations, a number of movies give attention to social and political points, reflecting Europe’s ongoing geopolitical anxieties. As many narratives lengthen the topic of belonging and displacement, characters regularly really feel misplaced, whether or not geographically or emotionally, whereas addressing themes of migration, exile, and nostalgia.”

Style-wide, Räim mentioned this yr’s crop additionally stands out hybrid tones of filmmaking, mixing drama with humor or fusing realism and surrealism, rejecting inflexible style boundaries.” This yr’s Baltic Occasion Co-Manufacturing Market jury consists of Eurimages’ Els Hendrix, Danish producer Katrin Pors (Snowglobe) and ZDF commissioning editor Jörg Schneider.

The 15 chosen groups will current their tasks Nov.19 at a session moderated by Sibylle Kurz and Márk Szilágyu. They can even sit on round 300 pre-arranged conferences with business reps.

The Baltic Occasion Co-Manufacturing Market will unspool Nov 19-21 and the total Business @Tallinn & Baltic Occasion Nov. 14-21.

Full Baltic Occasion Co-Manufacturing Market lineup 2025:

“Alice Needs to Stay” (Denys Sobolev, Ukraine, Latvia)Produced by Vitaliy Dokalenko, Ganzafilm, with Andrejs Ekis, Cinevilla FilmsAn intimate Kyiv-based battle drama from Ukraine-born Sobolev (“The Hitcher Lady”). After a drone strike destroys her house, Alice, a graphic designer in her thirties, finds surprising love with Vadym, a soldier briefly on go away. “The viewers is bored with information, numbers, and evaluation about battle in Ukraine,” says Ganzafilm’s Olena Morentsova “This isn’t a movie that explains battle. It’s a movie that explains what it feels wish to dwell by it.”

“Climacteric” (Liliana Torres, Spain, Poland)Produced by Carla Sospedra Salvadó, Edna Cinema, and Miriam Porté, Gerard Marginedas, of Distinto FilmsFirst pitched at Locarno’s Match Me, the challenge reunites the staff behind the 2024 SXSW winner “Mamífera:” Torres, actress Anna Alarcón and producers from Edna and Distinto Movies. Alarcón performs A girl who transforms herself, aligning with nature and altering her actuality when menopause converges with a world in destruction. “It’s an modern and socially-relevant movie that boldly addresses a common but silenced matter: menopause,” says Sospedra Salvadó. “Mixing intimate realism with components of physique horror, it provides a novel voice with sturdy worldwide potential.”

“Chilly Solar” (Gentian Koçi, Albania, France)Manufacturing by Gentian Koçi, Blerina Hankollari for Artalb Movie Productions with France’s Halley ProductionsA psychological drama wherein a person in his fifties, freshly launched from 20 years in jail for the homicide of his spouse, begins to fall in love for a solitary girl, earlier than realising that this love is changing into his actual jail. “It’s a visually poetic meditation, stripped of typical emotional cues and narrative exposition,” says seasoned Albanian director-producer Gentian Koçi (“Dawn,” “A Cup of Espresso and New Sneakers On”). “The movie unfolds a posh male protagonist and brings to the large display screen a perpetrator’s perspective, resisting redemption, catharsis, and ethical decision.”

“Coronary heart Beats” (Johanna Lietha, Austria, Switzerland)Produced by Karin Berghammer, Kathi Posch, Berghammer Movie with NGF Vienna and Tellfilm ZurichThe sophomore pic by Lietha, whose debut “Lovecut” nabbed finest screenplay on the Max Ophüls Competition. When Lia (12) has to maneuver to Vienna along with her father, she goes into full boycott mode, however an undesirable stepsister, a chaotic drummer and the magic of rhythms assist her to specific her anger and grief, permitting her to lastly rediscover herself.“It’s a humorous portrayal of the challenges of a patchwork household, treating its protagonist with Down Syndrome like all the opposite characters, with out decreasing her to her incapacity,” says Berghammer.

“Johnny” (Jaak Kilmi, Estonia, Latvia, Finland)Produced by Peeter Urbla and Sander Lebreht, Exitfilm, with Finland’s Bufo and Latvia’s Studio LocomotiveA historic drama by the seasoned Jaak Kilmi (“Vari,” “Disco and Atomic Struggle”), chosen final yr at PÖFF together with his interval drama “The Shadow.” A biopic set in post-war Estonia, 1948, in regards to the scholar years of Estonia’s former president Lennart Meri. “It’s a strong coming-of-age story that mirrors the uncertainty and ideological rigidity of immediately’s world in gentle of latest Russian agression,” says Lebreht. “Via the eyes of the longer term Estonian president, the story explores how mind, humor, and love can turn out to be acts of resistance towards authoritarianism.”

“Little Mary, All the time the Virgin” (Anna Jadowska, Poland, France)Produced by Magdalena Sztorc, Mozaika Movies, with France’s Thomas Lambert, Tomsa FilmsFrom internationally acclaimed Anna Jadowska, co-helmer of Netflix’s anthology pic “Erotica 2022” and the 2022 Tribeca winner “Lady on the Roof.” The movie activates Marysia (16) who tries to promote her virginity on-line. Producer Sztorc says “Little Mary” refers back to the helmer’s earlier pic “Wild Roses, winner on the Stockholm Movie Competition 2017.”It should create area for genuine dialog about feminine company, want, and the social constraints that younger ladies navigate,” she says.

“No Salvation Coming” (Vojtěch Strakatý, Czech Republic)Produced by Jan Čadek, Newbie’s MindA heist film from Selection’s 2025 Czech expertise to observe, lately chosen at Karlovy Range’s Proxima part for “The Different Facet of Summer time.” A gaggle of 4 younger adults, struggling to afford lease and meals regardless of their excessive {qualifications} and laborious work, resolve to rob a luxurious home the place one among them works as a cleaner. “Our movie reimagines the heist style as a socially charged, character-driven drama a couple of younger technology combating rising dwelling prices and unaffordable housing. It blends realism and style type to discover how far atypical folks will go when even fundamental stability turns into out of attain,” says Čadek.

“One Brother Too Many” (Tove Undheim, Norway)Produced by Ellen Ugelstad, Twentyone PicturesThe sophomore function from Undheim after the dwell/animation “Twigson and the Sea Monster.” Based mostly on the e book “En bror for mye” by Linde Hagerup, nominated for Germany’s Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreiss. 9-year-old Sara’s world is turned the wrong way up when her foster brother strikes in. “Tove Undheim brings a lightness and instinct to her storytelling that makes the movie each tender and shocking,” says Ugelstad.

“Queen of England Stole My Mother and father” (Ernestas Jankauskas, (Lithuania, Poland)Produced by Gabija Siurbytė, Viktorija Rimkutė and Aleksandra Chmielewska, Dansu FilmsFrom Lithuania’s co-producers of Locarno’s Norwegian movie standout “Solomamma.” The function is loosely primarily based on Jankauskas’s finest brief movie winner on the Lithuanian movie awards 2014. It activates an adopted woman who units out on a whimsical but emotional journey to avoid wasting her organic mother and father. “The movie goals to problem stereotypes and foster empathy for each kids and foster mother and father, says Rimkutė who underlines that author Gabija Siurbytė and Jankauskas will “convey private perception,” as each of them are adoptive mother and father.

“Superheroine of the Incorrect Facet of Forty” (Dace Pūce, Latvia)Produced by Antra Gaile and Līga Gaisa, Air ProductionsThe fourth pic by Pūce whose breakthrough debut “The Pit” was Latvia’s candidate on the Academy Awards and received the highest prize on the 2020 Lübeck Nordic Movie Days. A darkish comedy wherein a disillusioned journalist in her fifties books a solo journey to Bucharest. When bitten by Dracula, she discovers that she will be able to lastly dwell on her personal rattling phrases. “With its mixture of absurd humour, emotional honesty, and social relevance, the movie speaks to an unlimited viewers prepared for tales about transformation and visibility,” says Gaisa.

“The King of the Air” (Laura Ferrés, Spain, France)Produced by Nadine Rothschild and Inés Massa, Materia Cinema, Marina Perales and Xavier Rocher, La Fabrica Nocturna CinémaSophomore pic by Ferrés after her Valladolid winner “The Everlasting Image” and multi-awarded Cannes-selected brief “The Disinherited.” Co-written by the director with Chema García Ibarra (“The Sacred Spirit”). Within the melodrama, Pere is saved from suicide by Rosario and regains the desire to dwell. Nevertheless, Rosario is in love with Celeste, her monetary dominatrix, who has pulled away, believing that romantic emotions haven’t any place in such a relationship. Pere will attempt to take Celeste’s place in Rosario’s life, regardless of not understanding how anybody can discover pleasure in struggling. “Together with her singular cinematic voice, Ferrés is getting ready an unflinching movie that may look into all angles of ache in our society, utilizing humor and a heartfelt story to inform it,” says heavy-weight business exec Rothschild, who produced Ferrés’ debut pic.

“The Properly” (Siiri Halko, Finland, Estonia)Produced by Jenni Jauri, Silmu FilmsFirst function by Halko, credited for the sequence “Plan B,” co-helmed by Juho Kuosmanen and Khadar Ayderus Ahmed. An absurdist drama wherein A younger girl begins to query what she is aware of about her household, her foster sister and the great folks dwelling underneath their backyard effectively. “The Properly” will make us dive right into a surreal world whereas preserving us on a decent emotional grip across the themes of household, belonging and rising up. The story tickles the candy spot between humorous and unhappy, which I consider will translate into an fulfilling and touching movie,” says producer Jauri.

“Vanishing Level” (Tudor Giurgiu, Romania)Produced by Bogdan Craciun, Level FilmThe closing instalment in a movie trilogy in regards to the relationship between the person and freedom by high-profile Romanian movie mogul and director Giurgiu. Based mostly on a script by Florin Lăzărescu (“Aferim!). Producer Cracium says that with the multi-prized “Why Me?” (2015) and “Freedom” (2023) Giurgiu tackled the theme of freedom in varied methods. “Now, it’s in regards to the extraordinary journey of a person, Gică Scurtu, who managed not solely a spectacular escape from a labor camp, however went on to cross all the Soviet Union from south to north in just some months, making an attempt to achieve the Finnish border and freedom.”

“Vesna” (Rostislav Kirpicenko, Ukraine, Lithuania, and France)Produced by Vitalii Sheremetiev, ESSE Home, with Lithuania’s Movie Jam and France’s Tessalit ProductionsThe debut fiction function of Kirpicenko whose doc “One, Angarskaia Avenue” screened at Visions du Réel. The movie, set in a southeast Ukrainian city occupied by Russia, will discover the seek for human dignity amidst the day by day horrors of battle.

“We’re Leaving” (Kamil Krawczycki, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Estonia)Produced by Agnieszka Wasiak and Mariusz Włodarski, Lava FilmsA sophomore pic by Krawczycki after his breakthrough title “Elephant,” backed by the Polish Movie Institute. Anna’s lies have saved her household aside. Now, with little time left, she spins one closing deception, hiding her sickness as she leads her youngsters to Spain, the place the reality about their long-lost mother or father might both shatter them eternally or convey them collectively eventually. “We have been captivated by Kamil Krawczycki’s imaginative and prescient to create heartfelt cinema that talks about significant matters, going past the standard idea of drama,” says Lava Movies’ Weronika Oleszek. “Framing the story as a street film helps lighten its weightier subject material.”