12 projects in its ninth Co-Production Market; 8 projects in the script and pitch workshop POWR Baltic Stories Exchange; 10 projects in Baltic Bridge East by West producers' workshop, and another 22 Baltic and Finnish projects in the Coming Soon and Screenings sections.
Below we list the project line-up for 2013
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market includes 12 projects from 11 countries. This year's slate is special for the number of directorial debuts. Jussi Hiltunen, whose short film All Hallows' Week is one of the most recognized and widely travelled short films to come out of Finland in recent years, participates with a Nordic Western titled Law of the Land. Botond-Csaba Püsök from Romania also has a noteworthy list of shorts under his belt-- his drama Miracle in Cluj is produced by already established György Durst. Ukraine's Marysia Nikitiuk has similarly been picked up by an experienced producer, Igor Savychenko, to develop her debut When the Trees Are Falling. Kyrgyz Aygul Bakanova's graduation short screened at Locarno and Clermont-Ferrand and she is at Baltic Event with Drifting Snow, which she is developing through Cannes Residence Programme. Sofia Exarchou, an award-winning short film director from Greece, is in Tallinn with Park, the winner of Eurimages Co-Production Development Award. From Denmark, we are happy to host Maja Friis with Say Something, Pierrot, a fresh experimental film using modern ways of storytelling. On the other end of the scale, Latvia is represented by its most famous film director, Laila Pakalnina, with her fifth feature film, Dawn. The second project from Finland, True, is also directed by one of the most prominent film directors of his country, Aku Louhimies. Lithuanian Kristijonas Vildžiūnas, whose films have screened in Cannes and Venice, presents Seneca's Day with internationally acclaimed producer Uljana Kim. Estonia is represented by Heroes from the East, the second feature of Jaak Kilmi, whose documentary Disco and Atomic War was a huge festival success. Producer Katrin Kissa, who has a knack of choosing projects with great festival potential, brings Rainer Sarnet's newest endeavour, Jesus' Blood and Red Currants, based on a national bestseller. Karlovy Vary's former programme director Julietta Sichel and Stanislav Babic from Croatia's Telefilm have joined forces on Ministry of Love by prized director Pavo Marinković.
Baltic Bridge East by West, a training initiative organised in cooperation with Northern Seas Film Forum, EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs), RFilms, and CTB Film Company (Russia), and with the support from MEDIA Mundus, is designed specifically for five producers from the European Union and five producers from the CIS countries and Georgia. It consists of two workshops, the first of which took place during St. Petersburg International Film Festival and the second of which will be conducted in the framework of Baltic Event. Projects from Austria, Azerbaijan, France, Georgia, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine and the United Kingdom include films by celebrated directors Valerie Gaudissart (France), Merab Kokochashvili (Georgia), and Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyzstan).
As always, the aim of Baltic Event is to give a comprehensive overview of the regional film industry by presenting feature film projects in all stages of development and production, and holding panels and roundtables on topics of interest to the local film industry.
Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2013 project list:
1. Dawn, producer Laila Pakalnina, Hargla Company, Latvia, director Laila Pakalnina
2. Snow, producer Altynai Koichumanova, Oy Art, Kyrgyzstan, director Aygul Bakanova (Focus on Kyrgyzstan)
3. Heroes from the East, producer Kristian Taska, Taska Film, Estonia, director Jaak Kilmi
4. Jesus' Blood and Red Currants, producer Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production, Estonia, director Rainer Sarnet
5. Law of the Land, producers Kaarle Aho and Kai Nordberg, Making Movies Oy, Finland, director Jussi Hiltunen
6. Ministry of Love, producers Stanislav Babic, Telefilm, Croatia, and Julietta Sichel, 8Heads Productions, Czech Republic, director Pavo Marinković
7. Miracle in Cluj, producer György Durst, SpotFilm, Romania, director Botond-Csaba Püsök
8. Park, producer Amanda Livanou, Guanaco & Beben Films, Greece, director Sofia Exarchou (CineLink partnership)
9. Say Something, Pierrot, producer Mille Haynes, Friishaynes, Denmark, director Maja Friis
10. Seneca's Day, producer Uljana Kim, Studio Uljana Kim, Lithuania, director Kristijonas Vildžiūnas
11. True, producer Minna Virtanen, Vertigo, Finland, director Aku Louhimies
12. When the Trees Are Falling, producer Igor Savychenko, Directory Films, Ukraine, director Marysia Nikitiuk
Baltic Bridge East by West (B'EST) project list:
1. Caviar, producer Ursula Wolschlager, Witcraft Szenario, Austria, director Elena Tikhonova
2. Centaur, producers Altynai Koichumanova, Oy Art, Kyrgyzstan, and Marc Baschet, A.S.A.P. Films, France, director Aktan Arym Kubat
3. Kai, producer Olga Zhurzhenko, CryCinema, Ukraine, director Oleg Sentsov
4. Miracle, producer Lukas Trimonis, iN SCRiPT, Lithuania, director Egle Vertelyte
5. Northbound, producer Irada Bagirzade, Adari Films, Azerbaijan, director Ru Hasanov
6. Out, producer Marek Urban, sentimentalfilm s.r.o., Slovak Republic, director György Kristóf
7. Passing Clouds, producers Ian Prior, Scala Productions, and Jelena Goldbach, Wostok, UK, director Tatiana Korol
8. Third World, producer Nikoloz Abramashvili, Cinetech Film Production, Georgia, director Merab Kokochashvili
9. The Gulls, producer Elena Glikman, Telesto Film, Russia, director Ella Manzheeva
10. You Hid Saint Petersburg in Your Bag, producer Juliette Grandmont, Clandestine Films, France, director Valérie Gaudissart
POWR projects and scriptwriters:
1. Big World, Mette Heeno, Denmark
2. Minna & the Dream Team, Flemming Klem, Denmark
3. Charm of Tango, Maria Lappalainen, Finland
4. Whiteout, Jouni Mutanen, Finland
5. The Strawman, Hele Riin Moon, Estonia
6. Lady Stardust, Richard Rosengren, Sweden
7. Son of a Son, Hampus Linder, Sweden
8. Pill #1618, Domante Urmonaite, Lithuania
Supporters and partners of Baltic Event are Estonian Film Institute, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, MEDIA Programme, National Film Centre of Latvia, Finnish Film Foundation, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Northern Seas Film Forum, EAVE, Cannes Marche du Film's Producers' Network, Screen International, Cinelink, Film New Europe, Estonian Digital Centre, Estonian Film Industry Cluster and Enterprise Estonia/European Regional Funds.
