The 12th edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF) has revealed which short film projects will be pitched to a panel of international experts at the event which runs from 8-11 October 2024 in Vilnius. The BPF has garnered a reputation 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.
This year’s projects that represent Estonia include It is (Not) Yours (dir. Carlos Santiago Ordoñez, prod. Edina Csüllög), a personal and impressionistic animation that explores such issues as emptiness and loneliness. Fiction film project Breadsong (dir. Katariina Aule, prod. Andreas Kask), is a horror film with comedic elements about a peasant family living in the 19th century who encounter a pop song from the future while final project Saivo (dir. Alesja Suzdaltseva, prod. Magnus Kristiansen) tells a family story set against the backdrop of Sami traditions, exploring the journey of two characters who deal with loss and grief in different ways.
Latvian projects on offer include the fiction short film Boy With a Whistle (dir. Jāzeps Podnieks, prod. Emīlija Mikalauska). With a touch of magical realism, the film tells the story of a boy who runs away from home and is soon confronted by life-changing events. The second project, also with an air of magical realism, is Fen Fire (dir. Ieva Aleksa, prod. Filips Rudolfs Smits) – in which a woman’s journey home after a romantic setback becomes a test of integrity as she navigates an enchanting yet treacherous landscape. The final project from Latvia is 11 Ghosts of Fanny (dir./prod. Una Rozenbauma), a comedy about a nun who believes she must get pregnant to cure her cancer.
From Lithuania comes Madonna Terrible (dir. Elžbieta Latėnaitė, prod. Greta Akcijonaitė) a fiction film project in which the main character grapples with the Church’s stance towards LGBTQIA+ individuals and faces the prospect of being an apostate. Suez (dir. Martynas Norvaišas, prod. Ieva Černiauskaitė) is an experimental affair which explores the state of being stuck and notions of escapism by combining a fictional, character-driven story with found footage. The third project is the animated film Tears of Stardust (dir. Vilma Razmutė, prod. Giedrė Burokaitė), a powerful and personal story of a woman who - in dealing with the death of her father - falls through the multiverse and touches other people who also need to undergo a journey of healing.
The BPF’s guest country will be Croatia with the first project from the country being Endless Summer (dir. Paula Skelin, prod. Draško Ivezić) which explores generational conflict whilst delving into themes of belonging and detachment. Boiling Frog (dir. Sara Alavanić, prod. Lucija Perić) tells the story of Kiki, who recounts memories of a seemingly idyllic trip that ends up in tragedy while the final project Just One Thing (dir. Daria Stilin, prod. Maja Gros) follows an ambitious small-town girl who accompanies her stubborn Grandpa on a trip during which both will learn more about each other.
You can find out more about the selected projects HERE.
For those with projects, the Baltic Pitching Forum kicks off in September with participants taking part in individual online consultations on their short film scripts with a scripwritting 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 panelists and lectures will be announced in mid-September.
The BPF Panel will award two short film projects (from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) with participant rights to the European Short Film Co-production Forum Euro Connection, which is a part of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and the ShorTO Film Market and its Pitching Session “You Only Pitch Twice”.
The Baltic Producers Jury, consisting of three experienced producers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will select the Best Short Film Project and award it with Baltic Producers MEDIA Award – 1000 EUR cash prize. This award is open to all projects presented at the BPF.
Baltic Pitching Forum is organized by the Lithuanian Short Film Agency “Lithuanian Shorts”, which is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, in association with the Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Riga International Film Festival and PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival).
The project is financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Audiovisual Works Copyright Association “AVAKA” and Vilnius City Municipality. Partners – Creative Europe MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Croatia, Italian Short Film Center and Vilnius Film Office.
