Industry @ Tallinn Baltic Event, the gateway for global film & TV professionals keen to do business in the Baltic region, Central and Eastern Europe, has lined up more than 50 workshops, panels and seminars, hundreds of 1:1 meetings, and 76 projects, including four Nordic films.  

After yesterday’s opening session ‘European Film Forum Tallinn’, dedicated to the pandemic, how to survive and find new opportunities, today's highlight is the pitching of 18 Works in Progress in production or post-production.

Among those is the French/Finnish/German co-production A Girl’s Room by promising Finnish director Aino Suni, awarded the Baltic Event Eurimages Development Prize in 2018. The psycho-thriller about a toxic friendship between two young girls, set in the South of France, is co-produced by France’s Adastra Films, Finland’s MADE and Germany’s Oma Inge Film Kinology handles sales.  

The BE Co-production Market (November 25-26) includes 15 feature films in development from the Baltics, Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe, plus five Russian projects as part of a Special Focus on Russia.

“We had an overflow of submissions for the Co-production Market and had to be very selective, unlike for the projects in production and post-production at the Works in Progress that were affected by the pandemic,” said Marge Liiske, head of the Industry event. Scandinavian projects at the Co-Production Market are the following:

• Dogborn, Sweden
  Feature debut of writer/director Isabella Carbonella, voted Best Project at Haugesund’s Nordic Co-production Market. The project was part of the Cannes Critics’ Week’s Next Step scheme in 2015.The thriller follows two Syrian refugees in Sweden, a brother and sister who are twins and turn to the criminal world in order to survive. But things take a radical turn when the goods they are paid to transport turn out to be two young Asian girls. The film is produced by Erik Andersson, Farima Karimi and David Herdies for Momento Film, Sweden with support from Moving Sweden.
• Kevlar Soul (Kevlarsjäl), Sweden
  Feature debut of Maria Eriksson-Hecht multi-awarded for her short films (Schoolyard Blues). The drama is based on a script by Pelle Rådström. The central character Michail has to look after his little brother Robin and his alcoholic father Bo - that is until he falls madly in love with Ines. Neglected by his brother, Robin loses his footing and is found guilty of the arson of a tenement house. Michail blames himself and feels he has to save his family. But neither Robin nor Bo want to be saved. The film is produced by Zentropa Sweden’s Ronny Fritsche.
• Soldier, Finland
  Feature debut of established actor, music video and short filmmaker Toni Kamula. When Tuomas returns home to Northern Finland after a 5 years absence, his life is turned upside down when he realises he has a daughter. He wants to make a fresh start and hides his troubling past as a mercenary from the family he had abandoned. The film is produced by Oskari Huttu of Lucy Loves Drama.

Meanwhile the European Genre Forum has selected eight pitches, including the Czech-Finnish psycho horror Suru from music video/commercials director Anssi Korhonen. The script co-written with Kyle Baughman, centres on a woman - Katie, who becomes obsessed with an ancient ritual following the death of her son Joel.

TV BEATS
On the TV drama side, the two-day TV Beats Forum (November 26-27), sponsored by Elisa Viihde, comprises an intensive programme of talks, seminars and case studies, reflecting the upward global trend in TV drama production and distribution.

“This is our third year, and we can see how crucial it is to expand our drama space, at a time when people are staying home, and the balance is shifting from theatrical to digital viewing,” says Liiske. “For the smaller Baltic countries, it is vital to strengthen our local drama production, attract foreign producers with our tax incentives, and inspire people with global success stories."

Liiske says the TV drama sector in the Baltics remains under-financed; public broadcasters have their own VOD platforms, but aren’t yet producing content with international potential. However new players are gradually injecting funding in local content, such as Finland leading streaming service Elisa, TV4 Media, while NENT Group’s Viaplay is set to launch in the region in 2021.

Inspirational debates at TV Beats includes ‘Adaptation vs-Co-Production: Russian-Scandinavian Case moderated by former Nordisk Film & TV Fond CEO Petri Kemppinen, founder of the consultancy company P1 Kemppinen. Panellists include Lars Blomgren (Banijay); Matti Halonen (Fisher King) Piodor Gustafsson (TV4 Media), Yulia Sumacheva (WeiT Media), Irina Sosnovaya (Yellow, Black and White).

Other topics being presented include:

• ‘New Solutions-Producing and Co-producing in the Covid-Era’ with Riina Sildos (Amrion, Estonia), Peter Possne (Film i Väst, Sweden) Gareth-Ellis Unwin (ScreenSkills UK),
• ‘The Appetite for Female Content’ with NENT Group’s Filippa Wallestam,
• ‘Fighting for Gender Equality ‘with the Geena Davis Institute’s Madeline di Nonna,
• ‘How to Talk to Global Streamers’ with entertainment lawyer Christoph Fey.

Case studies include:

• Deutschland 83 with producer/co-creator Jörg Winger,
• Stranger Things with Baltic Film Services’ Gary Tuck who will discuss the shooting of season 4 in Lithuania, and the new Estonian crime series In the Line of Fire among others.

Meanwhile the training programmes MIDPOINT TV Launch will present nine projects from Central and Eastern Europe, and Script Pool Tallinn five projects vying for the €5,000 Script Award.

Most panels and workshops will be accessible to accredited professionals several weeks after this week’s event.

For the full programme, check: www.industry.poff.ee