On Sunday, the programme of a five-day hybrid-summit Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2022, kicks off with around 100 lectures, workshops and masterclasses, hundreds of 1:1 meetings and a record number - 760 participants across onsite and online.

According to Marge Liiske, the Managing Director of Industry@Tallinn& Baltic Event, it is clear that people are eager to meet and network face-to-face. “Therefore, we will welcome people in Tallinn and focus on the networking part onsite. Nevertheless, professionals, who cannot take a trip to Estonia can check out the projects, set up meetings and enjoy the conference program, panels and talks online. We hope that the summit will open up new collaborations and possibilities for participants as well as offer valuable insights and inspiration for the future.”

With the war in Ukraine, the soaring energy crisis, and a looming economic bubble burst affecting the distribution, exhibition and streaming sector, European independent industry is potentially heading into a downturn. “Thus, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2022 edition will explore and seek solutions to how European independent and small production countries can most effectively address the impending crisis to soften and mitigate its effects, as European content is critical in maintaining and promoting European values and democracy at a time when those are increasingly contested. It will explore alternative production, financing, and industry upskilling needs, and take a hands-on approach to sustainability and greening, sharing best practices across the continent. The program will feature case studies and exchanges with industry leaders to reflect on their tools, strategies, and experiences from the last bubble a decade ago. The agenda will also aim to establish highly personalized formats between European creators and innovators to discover solutions for the industry’s ongoing challenges,” Liiske added.

As usual, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event focuses on doing business. The programme includes 69 projects that are presented in seven different categories, including the script competition, co-production market, works in progress, and the newest addition, a drama series co-financing market, with public pitchings and one-to-one meetings. As this year’s summit takes a closer look at the Ukrainian audiovisual industry, there are also four series of projects in development, and presentations of four Works in Progress projects from Ukraine. The possibilities and perspectives of financing the Ukrainian audiovisual sector will be examined at the panel discussion. Accredited guests have access to a networking platform that allows them to schedule meetings with other attendees virtually and onsite.

The participants of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event will also have a chance to learn more about film projects and companies in Israel, the Focus Country for 2022. The highlight is a panel discussion on November 23 with Israeli directors who discuss the advantages and challenges of working in the Israeli film industry, as well as the difficulties and opportunities in a field that is constantly evolving, along with their sources of inspiration.

Cultivating resilience

For the 4th time already, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event takes a close look at drama series. The programme of TV Beats Forum, powered by Elisa, on 21-22 November, is designed to provide more practical advice and inspiration to professionals on how to get their series out there in challenging times. Supported by the European Commission and Creative Europe MEDIA, the Europe in Focus: Industry Innovation Forum - Sustaining Resilience and Foresight for Europe, comes to Tallinn on 22 November for a half a day executive level forum between policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators to explore debate and outline new policy and business frameworks in European film funding ecosystem, sustainable virtual production, immersive and Web3 technologies, and increasing industry-wide cooperation with the Ukrainian audiovisual and innovative solutions in the film and AV sector.

The summit also takes a close look at sustainability and green production, the key principles involved in creating magical films. The Capacity Building Seminar: sustainability in the audiovisual industry, organised by FIAPF and its prominent partners, free of charge and open to everyone working or interested in environmental sustainability in the film and TV industry, will take a closer look at sustainability in European Audiovisual Sector. “Involving the sustainability mindset to filmmaking is growing on us quite fast. I@T&BE is a good place to get to know about the opportunities and technologies that we can use in future projects,” Liiske added.

The programme also includes various roundtables, case studies and presentations on hot topics in the film industry including a panel on building a film community in exile, organized in collaboration with Northern Lights Nordic Baltic Film. The summit also takes the participants a few steps closer to the future as producers are invited to pitch against AI, film production management web app Yamdu presents the future of film production, and Near Future Retreat discusses how to keep integrity in crisis and be a conscious and sustainable agent of change across all the audiovisual/ media/ culture ecosystem.

Next to market activities, discussions and conferences the summit focuses on continuing education with its Black Nights Discovery Campus - this year focusing on young actors and actresses, costume designers, composers, scriptwriters, directors and producers. Black Nights Discovery Campus gathers together established programmes like Music Meets Film, Black Nights Stars, Black Room and Script Pool under one umbrella and presents various new talents in the region so film professionals can keep an eye on them. This year the programme includes masterclasses by composer William Goldstein, director Andrea Pallaoro, and art director Brunella De Cola. Read more here

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event 2022, one of the most significant constantly growing events in Northern Europe for audiovisual sector professionals, takes place from 20-25 November 2022 in Tallinn and is online. The schedule, as well as the online events, are accessible at industry.poff.ee.