18 films in production or post-production, looking for sales agents or festivals for international premiers, will be presented at the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event Works in Progress sessions in 2020.
As this year’s Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event takes place fully online, the presentations of projects taking part of Works in Progress can be followed on the industry.poff.ee website. The projects will be presented on November, 24.
The projects presented at Baltic Event, showcasing Baltic and Finnish films, and projects presented in International Works in Progress categories, all compete for the Post Production Award by Post Control, a Helsinki based high-end post-production house, in the amount of 10 000 EUR and the Baltic Event Works in Progress Award in the amount of 3 000 EUR.
The jury consists of Isabel Ivars-Sancho (Films Boutique), Ilaria Gomarasca (First Cut +) and Nikolaj Nikitin (Director and Head of Studies, School of Film Advancement, Artistic Director at International Film Festival Prague / Febiofest). The jury will hand out the Awards on November 26 at the Awards Ceremony.
Baltic Event Works in Progress, taking place for the 18th time in 2020, showcases seven promising projects from the Baltics and Finland.
Maria Ulfsak, the Project Manager of Works in Progress Baltic Events said that they were happy that, even though the industry events are taking place online, there were still a lot of interesting projects applying to participate in Works in Progress programs. “The projects in the Baltic Event Works in Progress selection this year are very different, from a 3-million budget historical adventure film to smaller, edgier and more experimental projects. This shows the good health of the regional film industry – very different films are in production and post-production and even though the virus has affected us all, the future looks bright. Hopefully we can all meet in person in wintry Tallinn next year,” she added
This year, Estonia is represented with two projects at Baltic Event Works in Progress. Sports drama Kalev, from director Ove Musting, tells the story of Estonian national basketball team Kalev and their unpopular decision to take part of the USSR’s championships in the summer of 1990, with the Soviet Union on the verge of collapse. The mystical Melchior The Apothecary, directed by Elmo Nüganen, takes place in medieval Tallinn, where Melchior Wakenstede, a clever and curious apothecary who, in addition to healing the sick, solves murders that shake the town.
Baltic Event Works in Progress also includes two projects from Latvia – the drama Lovable by director Stanislavs Tokalovs that unveils the story of Matiss and ten-year-old Stasija, who unexpectedly have lost their partner and mother. Neon Spring, a new project by Matīss Kaža focuses on a 20-year old girl, Laine, who starts to question her sexuality and identity while her family is falling apart.
Lithuania is represented by two projects this year. A dramedy, I Am Fine, Thanks, from Ernestas Jankauskas tells the story of a woman coming back to her former life after checking herself out of a rehabilitation clinic. A drama Feature Film About Life by Dovilė Šarutytė follows a story of a girl, Dovile, after her father’s death: as money is short, she decides to reject the professional funeral services and to organize the funeral herself.
In addition to projects from Baltics, Finland is presented with a drama A Girl’s Room by Aino Suni. The story unrolls as 17-year-old aspiring rapper Elina is forced to leave Finland and move to the South of France, where her mother’s boyfriend lives and where she soon meets her new stepsister Sofia.
The sixth International Works in Progress presents seven projects from all around the world.
Shahar Rozen from Israel presents fiction feature Ducks, Urban Legend. Psychological drama The Anger, directed and produced by Maria Ivanova Z is a joint project of Lebanon and Germany. Olesya Morgunets-Isaenko, from Ukraine, presents her first feature Carol of the Bells. Representing the other side of the globe, Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada from the Dominican Republic showcase A Film About Couples.
As in 2020 Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event introduces Russia in Focus, there are also three projects from Russia presented at International Works in Progress – dramas, including Nuuccha, the first feature by director and screenwriter Vladimir Munkuev, another first feature – First Snow by Nathalia Konchalovsky and Zemun by Eduard Zholnin.
For the second time, Works in Progress also presents projects in the children and youth film category. In 2020 there are four projects competing for the Just Film award – 1000 EUR to help the film gain visibility by covering promotion and publicity costs.
The jury of Just Film Works in Progress consists of Olaf Wehowsky (festival manager of LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers, Germany), Per Erikson (manager of the Swedish Federation of Film Societies, Sweden) and Guy Davies (film director /Philophobia/, UK)
A Butterfly’s Heart is a feature from award-winning Lithuanian director Inesa Kurklietytė, who was named The International Film Festival Serseliafam’s “Woman of the Year in Cinema”. Jaak Kilmi, a director from Estonia presents his newest project The Sleeping Beast. A joint coproduction from Belgium, the Netherlands and France, This is My Moment is a creative documentary by Lieven Corthouts, a self-taught filmmaker focused on directing documentaries, and New Wonder, directed by Alexandra Strelyanaya, represents Focus on Russia in the Just Film Works in Progress category.