Berlin Winner Estibaliz Urresola, Hot New Baltic Talents Jonas Trukanas, Tomas Harjo and Many More Set for Baltic Event Co-Production Market

The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has revealed its 15 projects to be pitched Nov. 18-20 at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival industry sidebar Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.

Picked out of 110 submissions from 34 countries, the slate of pics in development looking for co-financing, distribution and sales spans 10 territories – Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Spain.

Leading the charge are “La Korena” by Basque helmer Joana Moya, produced by Sirimiri Films, founded by Estibaliz Urresola, director of the Berlinale winner “20,000 Species of Bees,” and the horror satire “Wild Love” helmed by Lithuanian Jonas Trukanas (“Pensive”) for high profile prodco Afterschool, behind the 2021 Venice Horizons winner “Pilgrims” and 2024 Locarno winner “Drowning Dry.”

Other buzzy projects taking in the Ukrainian-German-Czech “Family Squad” from Ukraine’s largest animation studio Animagrad, credited for the hit “Mavka: The Forest Song”, and the Latvia-French-Polish coming-of age “In the Truth by Tomas Harjo, produced by pedigreed Latvian outfit VFS Films (“The Rossellinis,” “Immortal”).

“La Koreana” forms part of a spotlight on the Basque region from the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), while a dominating Baltic crop (6 out of 15 titles) is aimed at boost the region’s top talent and co-production opportunities of other attendees with one of Spain’s most vibrant production hubs over the last five years.

For the Baltic Event Co-Production Market’s co-managers Helen Räim and Kärt Väinola, focusing on the Baltics was “very natural” as PÖFF turns 30, the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event is 25, and after the Oscar for “Flow,” the momentum on Baltic films shows no sign of waning. Not only was the Latvian doc “Ulya” selected at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (at Un Certain Regard), but so was “Vesna,” a co-production between Lithuania, France, Ukraine and Estonia, which was pitched at last year’s Baltic Event Co-Production Market and landed at Cannes’ Special Screenings.

Quizzed about common threads at this year’s lineup, Räin and Väinola cited belonging, love and growing up as “the strongest collective themes. “Heavier themes such violence, war and death also appear,” they said, “although often as secondary threads, approached through humor, satire and the search for oneself.”

“This year’s lineup shows filmmakers who are not afraid to face their own questions, doubts and worries about the world they live in and to dream of the world they hope for,” they added.
The co-honchos also highlighted the substantial number of feature debuts (eight), often backed by “producers with strong track records at Venice, Berlin and Locarno,” and the strong slate of “imaginative stories for children and families, bringing fantasy and animation to the market.”

The 15 projects vying for the €20,000 ($22,300) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award will be judged by a panel of industry professionals including Eurimages’ Stefan Prohorov, Holly Daniel, director of the Red Sea Souk, and heavyweight Estonian producer Ivo Felt of Allfilm (“Tangerines,” “The Fencer”).
A closer look at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market lineup:

“At Your Service” (Til þjónustu reiðubúinn,” Magnús Jónsson, Iceland, Estonia)

A dark comedy about a terminally ill artist who starts a euthanasia business after Iceland closes its nursing homes. From Icelandic producers Guðný Guðjónsdóttir and Sara Djeddou Baldursdóttir, also selected at Tallinn’s TV Beats showcase with the series “Kalmann.” The co-production with Estonia’s Munchhausen Films is backed by the Icelandic Film Centre, RÚV and Sambíóin.

“The Boy Who Loves the World” (“De jongen die van de wereld hield,” Steven Wouterlood, The Netherlands)

From the multi-awarded Dutch helmer of “My Extraordinary Summer with Tess,” and Int’l Emmy Kids winner “Anything Goes.” “Adapted from one of the most celebrated Dutch children’s books of recent years, [‘De jongen die van de wereld hield’], it’s an adventurous family film that dares to reflect on a polarized world, while leaving audiences with a deep sense of wonder and zest for life,” says Maiike Neve who produces with Joram Willink for Bind.

“Clusterfuck” (Läppä oli,” Juho-Pekka Tanskanen, Finland)

It’s a portrait of “youth and violence and how easily things can go sideways,” says producer Paria Eskandari of Danish Bear Productions. “At a time when young people are portrayed as dangerous or lost, the film explores how the lines between belonging, having fun and bullying can become blurred.” Co-produced with Finland’s Mohzi Films.

“Family Squad” (“Наша Файта,” Kostiantyn Fedorov, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic)

Pitched earlier at Cartoon Movie and Stuttgart’s Animation Production Days.
Next feature from Animagrad and producer Anna Eliseeva, the team behind the animated hit “Mavka: The Forest Song,” which was released in 149 countries and grossed more than $25 million worldwide. Comedy drama in which a loser who dies by accident, is given a second chance in life, and sets off on a journey of self-discovery. Co-produced by Germany’s Telescope Animation and PFX, Czech Republic.

“Hide and Seek” (“Paslēpes,” Dace Puce, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden)

From the helmer of “The Pit,” Lübeck-Nordic Film Days top winner 2020, produced by Munchhausen Films, one of the Baltics leading servicing outlets.
Thriller in which a Latvian mother’s life in Sweden unravels after she is accused of abusing her young daughter. “The project addresses themes that extend beyond Latvia: migration, belonging, adaptation, parental responsibility, children’s rights, and the challenges of navigating unfamiliar legal and social systems,” say producer Elīna Jozauska.

“In the Truth” (“Patiesībā,” Toms Harjo, Latvia)

Deeply personal pic from photographer, actor-turned filmmaker Toms Harjo, about his experience of growing up in a Jehovah Witness community. Produced by Latvia’s prominent doc and fiction outlet VFS Films, credited for “The Rossellinis,” Venice Critics Week closing film in 2020 and “Immortal,” best doc at Karlovy Vary 2019.

“The Informatics Olympiad” (“Informatikos olimpiada,” Adas Burksaitis, Lithuania)

Estranged for years from his family, Domas has to take over his father’s job at school and prepare his niece for the informatics Olympiad. “Rooted in the specific world of provincial Lithuania and post-Soviet education, the film speaks universally about loneliness, addiction, burnout and the struggle to move beyond the identity imposed on us by others,” says Greta Akcijonaite from Magic Films.

“Lady Thatcher’s Feast” (“Uczta Pani Thatcher,” Marcin Kluczykowski, Poland)

From Polish prodco Telemark and producer Piotr Śmiechowski who won the Midpoint Series Award at last year’s TV Beats Forum in Tallinn for the comedy “We Are Still Here.”
Set in 1996, we follow Maria, owner of a modest canteen, who is chosen to prepare a banquet for Margaret Thatcher. In this drama based on true events, “food is not simply part of the setting,” explains Śmiechowsk. “It becomes a way of expressing emotions, class differences, care, ambition and identity. The canteen itself becomes a microcosm of a society in transition.”

“La Koreana”(Joana Moya, Spain)

Feature debut from Basque director Joana Moya, produced by Sirimiri Films’ Estibaliz Urresola, director of the Berlinale winner “20,000 Species of Bees.”
Set against a landscape shaped by iron mining, the film explores the relationship between nature, memory and human exploitation. Won the Ikusmira Berriak Prize at San Sebastian 2025.

“My 19-Year Old Granny” (“Moya 19-richna Babtsya,” Victoria Zadorska, Ukraine, Lithuania, Czech Republic)

Produced by Olena Yershova for Tato Film, in co-production with Lithuania’s Magic Films and the Czech Republic’s Breatless Films. Debut feature by fantasy author Victoria Zadorska, in which a retro dress teleports a schoolgirl to 1975 Soviet Ukraine, where she meets her hippie grandparents. “We want to connect three generations of women across two timelines and reveal what it truly costs to finally trust yourself,” says Yershova.

“My World Upside Down” (“Nikomu to nepoviem,” Daniel Rihák, Slovakia)

Feature debut by Rihák, whose short film “The Trip” was shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards. When Miško, a 12-year-old boy from a Slovakian village, discovers his brother is gay, he decides to save him “from hell.” But his plan backfires and Miško’s world turns upside down. Produced by What If Films.

“Shadows of Summer” (“Suve varjud,” Helen Takkin, Estonia)

“Shadows of Summer” tackles sensitive and deeply relevant issues of power dynamics, bullying, and co-dependency,” says producer Elisabeth Madisson of Nafta Films. “By intertwining a present-day participatory theater performance with events from 16 years earlier, the film gradually blurs the boundaries between past and present, reality and performance, bringing a fresh and distinctive cinematic approach to themes that are both universal and pressing today.”

“Summer of the Moth” (“Yöperhosen kesä,” Veera Lamminpää, Finland)

Produced by Petri Kemppinen of Good Hand Production. Story of a grumpy old elderly gardener and a magical time-traveling moth whose unexpected journey into the past helps them rediscover imagination, trust and hope. “Told through a rare mix of stop motion animation and live action, the film combines an appealing sense of humor with layered storytelling,” says Kemppinen.

“Wild Love” (“Laukine Meile,” Jonas Trukanas, Lithuania, Estonia)

From rising genre talent Trukanas whose breakthrough pic “Pensive” was bought by Cinedigm for their specialized platform Screambox. Produced by Afterschool, behind Lithuania’s Oscar hopefuls “Pilgrims,” and “Drowning Dry.” Co-produced by Estonia’s Tallifornia.
“’Wild Love’ is a rare Baltic horror satire,” say producers Klementina Remeikaitė and Rūta Kiaupaitė. “Set on Saaremaa Island, it plays on the nostalgia for Robinsons, the 2000s reality hit that whole Baltic families watched, and sends it spiraling into a zombie outbreak, in which the reality show at the heart of the film reflects a world where our sense of what is real keeps shifting and truth slips into lies.”

“Zona” (“Samosioły,” Bartosz Brzeziński, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia)

Directorial debut produced by Zizu Films. Intimate drama set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, where a young Ukrainian deserter finds refuge with an elderly woman and forms an unlikely bond. “War trauma is explored through a fresh lens, combining an intimate character study with the haunting backdrop of the Chernobyl wilderness,” says Klaudia Pachuta who produces with Konrad Zagórski, and Karol Zagórski.