Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries has announced the selection for its 27th edition. As the leading documentary pitching event in the Baltic countries, Baltic Sea Docs focuses on projects from the broader #Baltic Sea# region, #Eastern Europe#, and #Caucasus. With an impressive lineup of 20 projects being presented for the first time and four projects in the «Coming Soon» session, Baltic Sea Docs continue to showcase the talent and diversity of documentary filmmakers. The 24 selected projects represent film studios from 11 countries, including Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Estonia, and Georgia.
This year’s projects shed light on pressing issues and personal stories from the Baltic countries and beyond. Notably, there was a surge in powerful submissions from Ukraine, reflecting the filmmakers’ sensitive approach to the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Projects such as Another Man’s Diary, Divia, Eros and Thanatos, and Archive. Box#64 explore themes of war, environmental impact, personal experiences, and the significance of film archives as essential memory institutions.
The pitching sessions, scheduled for 7-8 September, provide an opportunity for the new project teams to work on their presentations with a team of international industry experts. This year’s tutor team includes experienced professionals such as Tue Steen Müller and Mikael Opstrup (Denmark), Salomé Jashi (Georgia), Alisa Kovalenko (Ukraine), Phil Jandaly (Sweden), and Simon Kilmurry (USA). The projects will be presented to a panel of decision-makers representing TV channels, sales and distribution companies from around the world.
Baltic Sea Docs offers a comprehensive program of industry activities. This year, they will host «Travelling Docs», an initiative organised by Creative Europe MEDIA desks, which facilitates connections between Baltic and other European documentary producers. Additionally, the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk of Latvia will offer a seminar on the phenomenon of a documentary approach in fiction films, expanding attendees’ knowledge and understanding of the genre.
Two projects, Divia (dir. Dmytro Hreshko) and Eros and Thanatos (dir. Dmytro Tiazhlov), have been invited to Baltic Sea Docs through collaboration with other industry platforms. The forum will also present awards in collaboration with partners such as Current Time TV and IDFA’s Spotlight award, while providing mentoring programs. The complete list of awards will be announced before the event.
List of Films Selected for Baltic Sea Docs 27th Edition:
- Another Man’s Diary | Ukraine (dir. Olexandr Tkachenko)
- Archive. Box#64 | Ukraine (dir. Eva Dzhyshyashvili)
- Artworks in Agony | Latvia / Lithuania (dir. Elizabete Gricmane, Ramune Rakauskaite)
- Brothers in the Hunt | Latvia (dir. Ieva Ozolina)
- Cecilia’s Project | Poland / Sweden (dir. Edward Porembny)
- Divia | Ukraine / Poland (dir. Dmytro Hreshko)
- Eros and Thanatos | Ukraine (dir. Dmytro Tiazhlov)
- The First Swallow | Georgia (dir. Joanna Roj, Sandro Wysocki)
- House of Ants | Poland (dir. Katarzyna Kultys)
- How to Talk to Lydia? | Germany / Moldova (dir. Rusudan Gaprindashvili)
- In the Winds of the Icefields (wt) | Estonia (dir. Mihkel Oksmann)
- The Misfit | Finland (dir. Miikka Poutiainen)
- Once We Were Heroes | Finland (dir. Oliwia Tonteri)
- Sacrum and Profanum in Pievenai | Lithuania (dir. Giedrė Beinoriūtė)
- Totem | Estonia (dir./prod. Birgit Rosenberg)
- Vanessa (wt) | Sweden (dir. Åsa Ekman, Martina Iverus, Oscar Hedin)
- Voice/Over | Czechia (dir. Bálint Révész)
- War in Chornobyl | Ukraine (dir. Oleksiy Radynski)
- We Are the Granddaughters Of The Witches You Couldn’t Burn (wt) | Georgia (dir. Mariam Chachia)
- Yalla Yalla | Lithuania (dir. Mindaugas Survila)
Projects in the «Coming Soon» Session:
- If Everyone Just Leaves | Sweden (dir. Karin Wegsjö, Nazira Abzalova)
- Podnieks on Podnieks. Witness of History | Latvia (dir. Antra Cilinska, Anna Viduleja)
- Up In the Air | Ukraine (dir./prod. Oksana Syhareva)
- When Harmattan Blows | Poland (dir./prod. Edyta Wróblewska)
