The next BPF will take place in Vilnius from 6th to 9th of October.
The Baltic Pitching Forum’s 14th edition will highlight Italy as this year’s guest country.
According to Rimantė Daugėlatė, head of the Baltic Pitching Forum: “Building a strong and sustainable partnership with the Italian Short Film Center and its ShorTO Film Market has shown how open the Italian film industry is to international cooperation and co-productions. We hope to strengthen connections between Italy and the Baltic states by presenting new voices and talent, introducing funding opportunities, and at the same time encouraging new co-productions.
Eligible applicants include directors and producers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Italy who have completed at least one short film and are currently developing new fiction, animation, or hybrid projects intended for international audiences, with a duration of up to 30 minutes. Projects must be in the early stages of development. The application deadline is the 21st of June.
Selected participants will attend a four-day training and pitching event, which includes sessions with tutor Gabriele Brunnemeyer, exclusive one-on-one meetings with experts, and various networking opportunities. Moreover, participants will have access to an extensive open events programme – lectures, panels, presentations, and alumni showcases. Before the Forum, filmmakers will engage in online script consultations led by scriptwriting expert consultant Anna Bielak.
Projects pitched at the Baltic Pitching Forum have found international success, with selections at major film festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, Annecy, Clermont-Ferrand, Tampere, Oberhausen. BPF alumni, such as Anna Hints, Laurynas Bareiša or Raitis and Lauris Abele, have also gained international recognition for their feature films screening at the likes of Sundance, Venice and Tribeca.
Baltic Pitching Forum is organized by the Lithuanian Short Film Agency “Lithuanian Shorts”.
The event is financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Vilnius City Municipality, Audiovisual Works Copyright Association “AVAKA” and Baltisches Haus. Associated partners: Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Riga IFF, Latvian Short Film Agency and PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival). Partners – Creative Europe MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Italian Short Film Center, Estonian Film Institute.
Application deadline: 21 June.
Apply to the Forum here.
Photos: Tautvydas Stukas