A record 800+ professionals, are attending the 22nd Industry @Tallinn & Baltic Event offering a packed programme of 100 inspiring panels and networking opportunities.

The annual event in the Estonian capital, overseen by head of industry Marge Liiske, kick started yesterday with the 6th TV Beats Forum set up to facilitate the entry of Baltic producers and service providers into the international series industry.

“It’s still difficult for Estonian producers to create high-end drama,” says Liiske. “Public service broadcasters commission some content, but it’s not yet at a high-quality international level. The Estonian Film Institute provides development money but not production support. Among platforms, we don’t see much investment from global players yet, but we are grateful for Elisa Viihde and Elisa Estonia that are investing steadily in quality content.”

Elisa’s CCO Ani Korpela and Elisa Estonia’s Head of Content Toomas Ili in fact discussed their renewed roadmap yesterday in Tallinn, notably with the launch of Elisa Huub set to offer 15 original series (scripted/non-scripted) in Estonia. Finnish producer Jarkko Hentula of Yellow Film & TV was also on hand for a case study on the three-season crime series Arctic Circle, available for streaming in Estonia.

Among Nordic series also introduced at TV Beats Forum yesterday was the eco-thriller Volcano, pitched by Hörður Rúnarsson of Iceland’s Act4, and Nebojsa Taraba of Croatia’s Drugi Plan.

At the film market, one Finnish majority produced project will be pitched at the Baltic Event Co-production market: The Elf co-directed by Hannes Vartiainen and Joonas Berghäll, also serving as producer for Oktober.

Commenting on the few projects from the Nordic region being showcased in Tallinn, Liiske says: “It’s always a bit difficult to attract Nordic people and projects - outside the natural cooperation we have with Finland, as projects looking for co-production or co-financing often attend the well-organised New Nordic Films in Haugesund, Finnish Film Affair in Helsinki and Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market and TV Drama Vision. So Nordic projects here, tend to come in waves. This year our Focus Countries are Serbia and its southeast neighbours Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Slovenia so we have many projects from those territories. “

Among high-profile guests speakers in Tallinn are US heavyweight producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Armageddon) and Ari Tan, most recently head of strategy, Int’l Studio at Paramount.” We were able to attract them by delaying our event by a week, and not overlapping with Thanksgiving in the US,” notes Liiske.

Novelties this year include the Just Film Industry Days (November 14-15), targeting film professionals, industry experts, educators, students, and set up in collaboration with KIDS Regio. “We have the very successful Just Film Festival and we’ve been running the Just Film Works in Progress for four years. We felt it was time to add a full conference to discuss the latest trends and developments in kids and youth films,” comments Liiske.

Also geared at training the new voices and supporting the education of the next generation of industry people is the Black Nights Discovery Campus, unfolding November 14-17 under a new format. Besides the existing Music Meets Film, Black Nights Stars, Black Room and Script Pool, a new Frame within a Frame sub-programme will be dedicated to cinematography. Forty young talents are taking part in the programme, with mentors including DoP Philippe Ros, composer John Altman and production designer Kave Quinn.

“We want to introduce young industry people to a pool of experts, and empower them. Business is one thing, making projects happen is crucial, but networking, becoming friends, taking care of each other and not being assholes is also key. In today’s tumultuous world, we need to show compassion, solidarity. We all depend on each other,” Liiske observes.

Industry @Tallinn & Baltic Event runs parallel to the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival running until November 19.