The Baltic Event Brings Together Media Professionals

by Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor

The Baltic Event, the co-production and networking professional event that is at the heart of the professional activities at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, began yesterday with an ambitious agenda of film pitches, professional seminars and special events. Now in its seventh year, the Baltic Event initiative is presenting 12 projects in the Co-Production Market section, offering film producers early contacts with distributors, programmers, film critics and other professionals for their projects, which already have some financing in place. The goal is to find co-production partners who can offer financing or distribution in order to realize the projects. The film projects participating in the Co-Production Market section include:

DIG DEEPER (ZK Studio, Poland)
DON'T LOOK BACK (Filmpartners, Hungary
ILLUMINATED NIGHT (Tandem Pictures, Russia)
MONEY FIRST (Eetriüksus, Estonia)
ONE STEP BEHIND THE SERAPHIM (Hifilm, Romania)
PRINCESS (Art Films Production, Finland)
RUNDOWN (Európa Film & Communications, Hungary)
THE ENTHUSIAST (Ego Media, Latvia)
THE EXCURSIONIST (СineMark, Lithuania)
THE TENSION (Film Studio TANKA, Latvia)
YOUNG SOPHIE BELL (Breidablick Film, Sweden)

The Baltic Event also presents a program called Coming Soon, which presents works-in-progress of films that are in production or post-production. This "early look" series allows distributors and film festival programmers to set the films on their radars for when they are completed in the coming months. Projects include:

VASHA (Allfilm, Estonia-Finland-Germany)BURATINO (Estinfilm, Estonia-Russia)
BANK ROBBERY (Filmivabrik, Estonia)
THE TEMPTATION OF ST. TONY (Homeless Bob Production, Estonia-Finland-Sweden)
A WISH TREE (Revolver Film, Estonia)DEATH TO YOU (Fa Filma, Latvia)
LITTLE ROBBERS (F.O.R.M.A., Latvia-Austria)
THREE TO DANCE (Kaupo Filma, Latvia)
THIS HAPPENED TO THEM (Studio Tanka, Latvia)
VORTEX (Studija2, Lithuania)
NEITHER BEFORE OR AFTER (Studio Kinema, Lithuania)
ANARCHY IN ZIRMUNAI (Tremora, Lithuania-Hungary)

The Coming Soon program presents a special focus on films from the Ukraine, including:

AN ORDINARY CASE (Garmata Film)
CASTING (Pattern Film)
ONCE I WILL NOT SLEEP (Ministry of Culture of Ukraine)
THE MELDOY FOR BARREL-ORGAN (Sota Cinema Group)
AN AWESOME TALE (Interfilm Production Studio)

For more information on The Baltic Event projects and events, visit: http://2008.poff.ee/?todo=view_page&lang=2&id=601