Tallinn’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market – an industry sidebar to the Black Nights Film Festival – has unveiled exclusively to Variety the strong line up of 15 European titles from 13 countries competing for the hefty €20,000 ($23,200) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award.
For the second year, the lineup also takes in films aimed at kids and youth from the Black Nights Film festival (PÖFF)’s Just Film program.
The slate, completed from a record 111 submissions from 44 different countries, runs the gamut from debuts works to compelling stories from acclaimed directors.
“It’s exciting to see strong and diverse voices shaping how stories are being told across Europe, said co-managers Helen Räim and Kärt Väinola who cite the Czech Talent Vojtěch Strakatý, Venice Orizzonti selected in 2024 with “After Party”, Laura Ferrés, (“The Permanent Picture”), “one of Spain’s most exciting emerging filmmakers,” and Tudor Giurgiu (“Why Me?“) “one of the most experienced directors in Romania.”
The co-honchos also underscored the number of “familiar names among the projects represented both from previous Co-Production Markets or other Industry@Tallinn sections” such as Spain’s Liliana Torres (a 2024 SXSW winner for “Mamifera”) who attended the Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF) with “What Went Wrong” in 2021, or Albania’s Gentian Koçi who showcased “A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On” at PÖFF official selection in 2022.
Räim and Väinola also emphasized the larger geographical spread, allowing for wider co-production opportunities. “Thanks to the Catalonia Focus and Austrian Spotlight, we’re so glad to see possibilities for new collaborations between regions, towards Southern and Western Europe, where strong creative and production bonds are still being built. But we can see that the stories being told clearly really support this approach, opening up new opportunities for producers not only in financing but also in reaching new audiences.”
Theme-wise, Väinolain (in charge of the Just Film industry program), said this year’s slate “really mirrors what’s happening in the world right now. The youth and children’s projects touched on topics like social media, mental health, and coming-of-age stories that didn’t shy away from life’s more difficult challenges. Luckily, there was also balance. While there were stories about hardships, there was also a strong focus on hope, growth and overcoming those challenges. So, we had the classic themes you’d expect in children’s and youth projects, but with a clear influence from the realities of today’s world.”
Her colleague Räim underlined the overall running thread of “female protagonists navigating questions of identity, body and autonomy. This reflects a clear rise in female-driven storytelling,” she said. “Many of the works also engage deeply with mental health and grief, portraying emotional struggles, depression, loss, and healing, often through subtle poetic or surreal tones.”
She went on: “Alongside these intimate concerns, several films focus on social and political issues, reflecting Europe’s ongoing geopolitical anxieties. As many narratives extend the subject of belonging and displacement, characters frequently feel out of place, whether geographically or emotionally, whereas addressing themes of migration, exile, and nostalgia.”
Genre-wide, Räim said this year’s crop also stands out hybrid tones of filmmaking, blending drama with humor or fusing realism and surrealism, rejecting rigid genre boundaries.” This year’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market jury includes Eurimages’ Els Hendrix, Danish producer Katrin Pors (Snowglobe) and ZDF commissioning editor Jörg Schneider.
The 15 selected teams will present their projects Nov.19 at a session moderated by Sibylle Kurz and Márk Szilágyu. They will also sit on around 300 pre-arranged meetings with industry reps.
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market will unspool Nov 19-21 and the full Industry @Tallinn & Baltic Event Nov. 14-21.
Full Baltic Event Co-Production Market lineup 2025:
“Alice Wants to Live” (Denys Sobolev, Ukraine, Latvia)
Produced by Vitaliy Dokalenko, Ganzafilm, with Andrejs Ekis, Cinevilla Films
An intimate Kyiv-based war drama from Ukraine-born Sobolev (“The Hitcher Girl”). After a drone strike destroys her home, Alice, a graphic designer in her thirties, finds unexpected love with Vadym, a soldier briefly on leave. “The audience is tired of news, numbers, and analysis about war in Ukraine,” says Ganzafilm’s Olena Morentsova “This is not a film that explains war. It is a film that explains what it feels like to live through it.”
“Climacteric” (Liliana Torres, Spain, Poland)
Produced by Carla Sospedra Salvadó, Edna Cinema, and Miriam Porté, Gerard Marginedas, of Distinto Films
First pitched at Locarno’s Match Me, the project reunites the team behind the 2024 SXSW winner “Mamífera:” Torres, actress Anna Alarcón and producers from Edna and Distinto Films. Alarcón plays A woman who transforms herself, aligning with nature and changing her reality when menopause converges with a world in destruction. “It’s an innovative and socially-relevant film that boldly addresses a universal yet silenced topic: menopause,” says Sospedra Salvadó. “Blending intimate realism with elements of body horror, it offers a unique voice with strong international potential.”
“Cold Sun” (Gentian Koçi, Albania, France)
Production by Gentian Koçi, Blerina Hankollari for Artalb Film Productions with France’s Halley Productions
A psychological drama in which a man in his fifties, freshly released from 20 years in jail for the murder of his wife, starts to fall in love for a solitary woman, before realising that this love is becoming his real prison. “It’s a visually poetic meditation, stripped of conventional emotional cues and narrative exposition,” says seasoned Albanian director-producer Gentian Koçi (“Daybreak,” “A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On”). “The film unfolds a complex male protagonist and brings to the big screen a perpetrator’s perspective, resisting redemption, catharsis, and moral resolution.”
“Heart Beats” (Johanna Lietha, Austria, Switzerland)
Produced by Karin Berghammer, Kathi Posch, Berghammer Film with NGF Vienna and Tellfilm Zurich
The sophomore pic by Lietha, whose debut “Lovecut” nabbed best screenplay at the Max Ophüls Festival. When Lia (12) has to move to Vienna with her father, she goes into full boycott mode, but an unwanted stepsister, a chaotic drummer and the magic of rhythms help her to express her anger and grief, allowing her to finally rediscover herself.“It’s a humorous portrayal of the challenges of a patchwork family, treating its protagonist with Down Syndrome like all the other characters, without reducing her to her disability,” says Berghammer.
Heart Beats
“Johnny” (Jaak Kilmi, Estonia, Latvia, Finland)
Produced by Peeter Urbla and Sander Lebreht, Exitfilm, with Finland’s Bufo and Latvia’s Studio Locomotive
A historical drama by the seasoned Jaak Kilmi (“Vari,” “Disco and Atomic War”), selected last year at PÖFF with his period drama “The Shadow.” A biopic set in post-war Estonia, 1948, about the student years of Estonia’s former president Lennart Meri. “It’s a powerful coming-of-age story that mirrors the uncertainty and ideological tension of today’s world in light of recent Russian agression,” says Lebreht. “Through the eyes of the future Estonian president, the story explores how intellect, humor, and love can become acts of resistance against authoritarianism.”
Johnny
Exit Film
“Little Mary, Always the Virgin” (Anna Jadowska, Poland, France)
Produced by Magdalena Sztorc, Mozaika Films, with France’s Thomas Lambert, Tomsa Films
From internationally acclaimed Anna Jadowska, co-helmer of Netflix’s anthology pic “Erotica 2022” and the 2022 Tribeca winner “Woman on the Roof.” The film turns on Marysia (16) who tries to sell her virginity online. Producer Sztorc says “Little Mary” refers to the helmer’s earlier pic “Wild Roses, winner at the Stockholm Film Festival 2017.”It will create space for authentic conversation about female agency, desire, and the social constraints that young women navigate,” she says.
“No Salvation Coming” (Vojtěch Strakatý, Czech Republic)
Produced by Jan Čadek, Beginner’s Mind
A heist movie from Variety’s 2025 Czech talent to watch, recently selected at Karlovy Vary’s Proxima section for “The Other Side of Summer.” A group of four young adults, struggling to afford rent and food despite their high qualifications and hard work, decide to rob a luxury house where one of them works as a cleaner. “Our film reimagines the heist genre as a socially charged, character-driven drama about a young generation struggling with rising living costs and unaffordable housing. It blends realism and genre style to explore how far ordinary people will go when even basic stability becomes out of reach,” says Čadek.
No Salvation Coming
“One Brother Too Many” (Tove Undheim, Norway)
Produced by Ellen Ugelstad, Twentyone Pictures
The sophomore feature from Undheim after the live/animation “Twigson and the Sea Monster.” Based on the book “En bror for mye” by Linde Hagerup, nominated for Germany’s Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreiss. Nine-year-old Sara’s world is turned upside down when her foster brother moves in. “Tove Undheim brings a lightness and intuition to her storytelling that makes the film both tender and surprising,” says Ugelstad.
“Queen of England Stole My Parents” (Ernestas Jankauskas, (Lithuania, Poland)
Produced by Gabija Siurbytė, Viktorija Rimkutė and Aleksandra Chmielewska, Dansu Films
From Lithuania’s co-producers of Locarno’s Norwegian film standout “Solomamma.” The feature is loosely based on Jankauskas’s best short film winner at the Lithuanian film awards 2014. It turns on an adopted girl who sets out on a whimsical yet emotional journey to save her biological parents. “The film aims to challenge stereotypes and foster empathy for both children and foster parents, says Rimkutė who underlines that writer Gabija Siurbytė and Jankauskas will “bring personal insight,” as both of them are adoptive parents.
The Queen of England Stole My Parents
Dansu Films
“Superheroine of the Wrong Side of Forty” (Dace Pūce, Latvia)
Produced by Antra Gaile and Līga Gaisa, Air Productions
The fourth pic by Pūce whose breakthrough debut “The Pit” was Latvia’s candidate at the Academy Awards and won the top prize at the 2020 Lübeck Nordic Film Days. A dark comedy in which a disillusioned journalist in her fifties books a solo trip to Bucharest. When bitten by Dracula, she discovers that she can finally live on her own damn terms. “With its mix of absurd humour, emotional honesty, and social relevance, the film speaks to a vast audience ready for stories about transformation and visibility,” says Gaisa.
“The King of the Air” (Laura Ferrés, Spain, France)
Produced by Nadine Rothschild and Inés Massa, Materia Cinema, Marina Perales and Xavier Rocher, La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma
Sophomore pic by Ferrés after her Valladolid winner “The Permanent Picture” and multi-awarded Cannes-selected short “The Disinherited.” Co-written by the director with Chema García Ibarra (“The Sacred Spirit”). In the melodrama, Pere is saved from suicide by Rosario and regains the will to live. However, Rosario is in love with Celeste, her financial dominatrix, who has pulled away, believing that romantic feelings have no place in such a relationship. Pere will try to take Celeste’s place in Rosario’s life, despite not understanding how anyone can find pleasure in suffering. “With her singular cinematic voice, Ferrés is preparing an unflinching film that will look into all angles of pain in our society, using humor and a heartfelt story to tell it,” says heavy-weight industry exec Rothschild, who produced Ferrés’ debut pic.
“The Well” (Siiri Halko, Finland, Estonia)
Produced by Jenni Jauri, Silmu Films
First feature by Halko, credited for the series “Plan B,” co-helmed by Juho Kuosmanen and Khadar Ayderus Ahmed. An absurdist drama in which A young woman starts to question what she knows about her family, her foster sister and the nice people living under their garden well. “The Well” will make us dive into a surreal world while keeping us on a tight emotional grip around the themes of family, belonging and growing up. The story tickles the sweet spot between funny and sad, which I believe will translate into an enjoyable and touching film,” says producer Jauri.
“Vanishing Point” (Tudor Giurgiu, Romania)
Produced by Bogdan Craciun, Point Film
The final instalment in a film trilogy about the relationship between the individual and freedom by high-profile Romanian film mogul and director Giurgiu. Based on a script by Florin Lăzărescu (“Aferim!). Producer Cracium says that with the multi-prized “Why Me?” (2015) and “Freedom” (2023) Giurgiu tackled the theme of freedom in various ways. “Now, it’s about the extraordinary journey of an individual, Gică Scurtu, who managed not only a spectacular escape from a labor camp, but went on to cross the entire Soviet Union from south to north in just a few months, attempting to reach the Finnish border and freedom.”
“Vesna” (Rostislav Kirpicenko, Ukraine, Lithuania, and France)
Produced by Vitalii Sheremetiev, ESSE House, with Lithuania’s Film Jam and France’s Tessalit Productions
The debut fiction feature of Kirpicenko whose doc “One, Angarskaia Street” screened at Visions du Réel. The film, set in a southeast Ukrainian town occupied by Russia, will explore the search for human dignity amidst the daily horrors of war.
“We’re Leaving” (Kamil Krawczycki, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Estonia)
Produced by Agnieszka Wasiak and Mariusz Włodarski, Lava Films
A sophomore pic by Krawczycki after his breakthrough title “Elephant,” backed by the Polish Film Institute. Anna’s lies have kept her family apart. Now, with little time left, she spins one final deception, hiding her illness as she leads her teenagers to Spain, where the truth about their long-lost parent could either shatter them forever or bring them together at last. “We were captivated by Kamil Krawczycki’s vision to create heartfelt cinema that talks about meaningful topics, going beyond the traditional concept of drama,” says Lava Films’ Weronika Oleszek. “Framing the story as a road movie helps lighten its weightier subject matter.”
We’re Leaving
