Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2023, taking place on 16-17 November, presents 15 film projects, including many debuts as well as second features and promising stories from award-winning directors.

Baltic Event Co-Production Market, held at Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event since 2005, is the meeting place for feature films in development looking for co-producers, financiers and sales agents. Altogether 15 projects were selected for the market this year and about 300 pre-arranged meetings will be held with decision-makers.

According to Marge Liiske, the head of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, this year's selection presents comedies and dramas from Central Eastern Europe, Baltic and Nordic regions. “In the Baltic Event Co-Production Market this year, we journey through a world of complexity and diversity, brought to life through both laughter and tears. With selections from our five Focus countries – Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovenia – we not only celebrate the region’s rich cinematic heritage but also its promising co-production reality,” Liiske added.

The Focus Countries 2023 are presented with five titles in the selection. North Macedonian comedy Ants, directed by Marjan Gavrilovski, makes a strong move by exploring an intimate story between a homophobic police detective and a trans woman investigating a murder, a rare topic in Balkans' cinema. Another comedy Monte Zombie (directed by Danilo Beckovic) from Serbia and Montenegro, follows a Finnish family escaping the zombie outbreak to the mountains in Montenegro. Croatian drama, a provocative psychological thriller Pogana, directed by David Kapac, whose debut feature The Uncle premiered at Karlovy Vary IFF 2022 addresses all recognizable motifs and pitfalls of contemporary global society. Uncomfortable Beings, a co-production by Slovenia and Croatia, directed by Maja Križnik, follows the life of three sisters after the death of their father. Four Funerals and a Wedding, directed by Nikola Mijovic from Montenegro, is a feature film about a Montenegrin funeral mourning artist and his daughter trying to establish herself as a pop singer by participating in a TV talent show.

The slate continues with captivating stories such as the Slovakian Flight From Kabul, a second feature film by Sahraa Karimi, a leading figure in the Afghan film industry. Written, directed and produced by women, Flight From Kabul harnesses the power of female energy through their unique vision and approach. Sahraa’s debut film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha (2019) premiered at Venice IFF. The Rahma film project, directed and produced by Faysal Soysal (Turkey) will open up the issues of being a refugee and being a resident, with its different dimensions, from the reproduction of human beings in the modern era to founding a family and the search for a homeland. Soysal's first feature film, Crossroads, received 13 awards in Turkey and abroad. Checkpoint - a debut from Rita Borodiyanski - is a portrait of a young woman from a struggling household who serves as a soldier in the IDF checkpoint unit (Israel). Borodiyanski has previously directed three short films that have been nominated and received various awards in international festivals worldwide.

Award-winning Polish director, screenwriter and cinematographer Damian Kocur is presenting his newest feature La Manche. Kocur's debut feature Bread and Salt celebrated its world premiere in the Venice Film Festivalʼs 2022 Orizzonti section, winning the Special Jury Prize. His latest short As It Was was selected for official competition at Cannes 2023. Romanian director Marius Olteanu also presents his second feature at the market - a drama We Won't Get Old Together. The slate proudly includes a Ukraine title Dawn Chorus, directed by Mykola Zasieiev, produced by acclaimed Natalia Libet.

Ukraine title Dawn Chorus

Baltic Event Co-Production market 2023 selection:

1. Ants, produced by Romir Jakupi, directed by Marjan Gavrilovski, Time Laps, North Macedonia
2. Checkpoints, produced by Osnat Saraga, directed by Rita Borodiyanski, Ananey Studios, Israel
3. Dawn Chorus, produced by Natalia Libet, Vitalii Sheremetiev and Oleksii Zgonik, directed by Mykola Zasieiev, Digital Religion LLC, Ukraine
4. Dirt In Your Face, produced by Kristian Taska, directed by Jaak Kilmi, Taska Film Estonia
5. Dog Owners, produced by Uljana Kim, directed by Dovilė Šarutytė, Studio Uljana Kim, Lithuania
6. Flight From Kabul, produced by Wanda Adamik Hrycova, directed by Sahraa Karimi,Wandal Production, s.r.o., Slovakia
7. Four Funerals and a Wedding, produced by Maja Kecojevic, directed by Nikola Mijovic, Parangal Film, Montenegro
8. La Manche, produced by Anna Gawlita and Marta Szymanowska, directed by Damian Kocur, Poland, Kijora Film
9. Monte Zombie, produced by Marko Paljic, directed by Danilo Beckovic, Gargantua Films, Mali Budo, Serbia, Montenegro
10. Pogana, produced by Rea Rajčić, directed by David Kapac, Eclectica, Croatia
11. Rahma, produced and directed by Faysal Soysal, Balkon Film Production, Turkey
12. The Bog, produced by Gints Grūbe, directed by Reinis Kalviņš, Mistrus Media, Latvia
13. The Elf, produced by Joonas Berghäll, directed by Hannes Vartiainen, Oktober Oy, Finland
14. Uncomfortable Beings, produced by Lija Pogačnik, directed by Maja Križnik, December, Slovenia
15. We Won’t Get Old Together, produced by Oana Giurgiu, directed by Marius Olteanu, Point Films, Romania

We Won't Get Old Together

International jury selecting the winners for Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2023 includes
Marija Razgute, producer, Jarod Neece, Senior Programmer at the Tribeca Festival and Frederik Hemmingsen, Sales Manager at TrustNordisk.

Baltic Event Co-Production Market 2023 Awards:
Best Project Award: 10 000 euros, consisting of 5000 € cash and 5000 euros service by YAMDU
Best Pitch: Coverage throughout the film’s life-cycle awarded by Screen International
Producers Network Prize for promising young producers: two free passes to Producers Network 2024 awarded by Cannes Marché du Film