We are thrilled to announce the 26 selected projects for this year’s Baltic Sea Docs!

As usual, we will meet in Riga where the forum will take place on 1-6 September (industry dates).

22 new projects, currently in development and production, will be presented at the main pitch, and four additional projects in the “Coming Soon” session, featuring films in post-production that have previously been pitched at Baltic Sea Docs.

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:

𝟖𝟎 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 | Hungary / Germany

dir. András Földes, Anna Kis | prod. Lorand Balazs Imre | FilmDough Productions UG

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 (𝐰𝐭) | Kazakhstan

dir. Sasha Shegai | prod. Sasha Shegai, Yevgeniya Moreva | CatNip

𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐜 | Poland

dir. Iga Lis | prod. Stanislaw Zaborowski, Justyna Gawelko | Silver Frame

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 | Lithuania

dir. Andrius Lekavičius | prod. Gabriele Vaiciunaite | Cinema Cartel

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | Estonia

dir. Erik Tikan | prod. Elina Litvinova, Maris Salumets | Three Brothers OÜ

𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 | Lithuania

dir. Aiste Stonyte | prod. Giedrė Žickytė, Migla Butkutė | Moonmakers

𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | Estonia

dir. Vladimir Loginov | prod. Janika Möls | Anthill Films OÜ

𝐄𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨 | Georgia

dir. Rati Oneli | prod. Rati Oneli, David Vashadze, Evgeniia Marchenko | Office of Architecture

𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 | Latvia / Romania

dir. Viesturs Kairišs | prod. Elīna Gediņa – Ducena, Gints Grūbe | Mistrus Media, Dash Film

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫’𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐬 | Ukraine

dir. Yuriy Shylov | prod. Olha Tuharinova | LLC “Alarm Productions”

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 | Latvia

dir. Ivars Zviedris | prod. Ivars Zviedris | BIEDRĪBA “DOKUMENTĀLISTS”

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 | Germany

dir. Sasha Kulak, Masha Maroz | prod. Julia Shaginurova | Einmahnstraße Productions

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 Making Friends with the Idea of a Father / Сприятеляване с идеята за баща | Bulgaria

dir. Nikolay Stefanov | prod. Ralitsa Golemanova | Smarty Pants Shooter Ltd.

𝐍𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 | Ukraine / Latvia

dir. Yevhen Titarenko | prod. Guntis Trekteris, Natalia Khazan | Braha Production Company, EGO MEDIA

𝐎𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐃 | Moldova / Lithuania

dir. Pavel Braila | prod. Pavel Braila, Lilia Braila, Ausra Lukosiuniene | ARTWATT, VEGELE FILMS

𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 | Georgia

dir. Nona Giunashvili | prod. Mariam Bitsadze | 17/07 Productions

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐡𝐢𝐤 | Armenia

dir. Lusine Papoyan | prod. Aram Petrosyan | Formlab

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | Sweden

dir. Johan von Sydow | prod. Katja Uneborg | Picky Pictures

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 | Estonia

dir. Kullar Viimne | prod. Erik Norkroos | Rühm Pluss Null – Missing Pictures

𝐒𝐤𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐬 | Azerbaijan

dir. Aytaj Khalig Suleymanova | prod. Elmaddin Suleymanov | image x

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧 | Latvia

dir. Pēteris Krilovs | prod. Uldis Cekulis | VFS Films

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 | Estonia

dir. Kristen Aigro, Miguel Llansó | prod. Liis Nimik | Klara Films

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:

𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢 | Estonia

dir. Margit Lillak | prod. Margit Lillak, Dirk Manthey | Tiny Desk Productions OÜ, Dirkmantheyfilms

𝐃𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐯𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚 | Tajikistan / Uzbekistan

dir., prod. Elyor Nematov | 1844 Productions

𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 | Latvia / Estonia / Poland / Germany

dir. Kārlis Lesiņš | prod. Elīna Gediņa – Ducena, Gints Grūbe | Mistrus Media, Allfilm, Staron Film, Gebrueder Beetz

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 | Latvia / Lithuania

dir. Laila Pakalniņa | prod. Uldis Cekulis, Giedrė Žickytė | VFS Films, Moonmakers

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue introducing the projects closer!

For more information, visit our website: www.balticseadocs.lv/industry

All right, let’s have the synopsis (Scanorama Festival Kaunas 2023) first: ““The Mammoth Hunt” is a story about a film reel that for many years has been thought to be lost. On the reel, under conspiracy conditions, an abolished anti-Soviet theatre performance had been documented nearly 50 years ago – a play that served as a cross-section of the period revealing the universal subjects of courage, conformation, loyalty and betrayal.” Directed by Jonas Jurašas (1936), who left Soviet Lithuania in 1974 with his wife Ausra and came back, when the country achieved its independence. Jurašas is the main protagonist in the film, his cv from his time as “senior director” of the Kaunas Drama Theatre is impressive.

I have seen the film twice. As I normally do, when I find something that is of great interest content-wise and as a Film. On top of that, a personal motivation: the film deals with the world of theatre – my father was an actor, Aistė Stonytė’s father is an actor and I sense immediately that the film has a loving atmosphere and cares about its protagonists.

I loved to be there in the theatre world with all these old charismatic people digging into a past that was both enjoyable and not so pleasant. They did something together, “The Mammoth Hunt” was a great audience success, and when banned by Moscow, the play was filmed secretly but where is the film… 

There are many strong protagonists, the writer/critic, Audronė Girdzijauskaitė, who was banned for her writing, the sculptor, Marija Vildžiūnienė, who was hiding Jonas and his wife Ausra, the latter strong as well, she was described as “furia” in the KGB archive. The 96 year old actor Antanas Tarasevicius, who remembers that the filming (in 1970!) took place; he was also secretary of the party, but that was just a personal security matter for him, he says… And not to forget the cameraman Donatas Pečiūra, who passed away last year, an old man who climbs the stairs to his attic to look for the film as he shot on 16mm, on material provided for the shooting by the Amateur Film Society, whose chair at that time was Rimgaudas Eilunavicius, who as the others are interviewed by Stonyté. No one seems to know, where the film is but luckily the sound tapes are there and play an important role for the viewer to imagine, often together with photos taken, what a controversial play it must have been. Well told, good cinematography by Kristina Sereikaite, two genres that go well together – the investigation and a psychological drama. Great archive! And great music from the film!

Many layers there are. It’s also a film about remembrance. The cameraman of the play Donatas Pečiūra goes to the attic and is actually more interested in showing some photos from way back than searching for the lost film. Look and he shows a photo of a cat! Marija Vildžiūnienė, a lovely protagonist, shot a lot of b/w material, thus she is able to remember those days, where Jonas Jurašas and his wife were living at her place; there is a freshness in this material, a feeling of freedom. 

Should he have stayed? Audronė Girdzijauskaitė, the critic and author, reflects on this. He could have been a legend but he left and came back as a hero… who could no longer connect to the country. Masterly conveyed by Stonyté, who follows the theatre director with the beautiful white hair walking around, visiting the theatre AND sitting at the beach, alone like the last scene with Dirk Bogarde in Visconti’s “Death in Venice”. A heron walks in the foreground, magic! 

This building of the film is so intelligent. I was until a certain point sure that I would be given an answer to the missing film but the shift to have the focus solely on the aging Jonas Jurašas and his fate being away from his country, coming back as a stranger is very moving. Thank you for not refraining from pathos, for filming his embrace of THEATRE. 

Lithuania, 2023, 94 mins.

At least some of them, films I have seen:

Docs Award for the Best Film in the Docs&Pearls Official Selection: Laura Plancarte: Mexican Dream. The jury motivation goes like this: “For emerging as a generous and vibrant film, courageously delving into the complexities of its nuanced character and her reality. The director’s intimate, supportive, and collaborative approach, along with the decision to share script authorship, shows a profound sensitivity. It accompanies the protagonist’s journey of empowerment with empathy, challenging societal boundaries and norms with no hint of judgment or moralism”.

The Docs Nou Talent – Filmin awards the debut Daughter of Genghis by Kristoffer Juel Poulsen and Christian Als. The film is reviewed on this site: https://filmkommentaren.dk/kristoffer-juel-poulsen-christian-als-daughter-of-genghis/ The jury motivation goes like this: “Along with this epic journey, we see a significant transformation of not just the struggling protagonist, but also the camera’s gaze on its subject. And we discover that profound patience is the very thing that enables this transformation. Seven years of production are required to portray the complexity of the once-ultra-nationalist Mongolian woman and allow her to find balance in her own life”.

The award for the best film in the category Docs&Cat – Catalan documentaries went to Casa Reynal by Laia Manresa Casals. The jury motivation goes like this:

“For the director’s narrative skill, which through a tribute to her grandmother and the working class, weaves an emancipatory story about the post-war generation. We want to thank Laia for captivating us with her red thread and moving us.”

Photo: Cesc Maymo.

Thanks to my membership of the European Film Academy I could watch this emotionally strong, storytelling-wise original film after a masterclass at DocsBarcelona yesterday arranged by the festival and DocIncubator, whose founder and director Andrea Prenghyova was in a fine dialogue with the director talking about how the film ended up in the training program and profited from that. The film premiered at IDFA 2023, travelled to many festivals and was nominated for the European Film Awards. It is a film that uses metaphors, is visually constantly attractive and has a narrative text that is beautiful even if you – like me – have to read it as subtitles. Sorry for the superlatives, I now let others take the floor:

“When filmmaker Efthymia Zymvragaki fled her native island of Crete as a young adult, she hoped to leave her violent childhood behind. But in Spain, her memories come flooding back when a man asks her to make a film about him and his violence. The encounters with Ernesto and his alter ego Juan, the frank conversations about the violent acts he committed, and the scenes in which he or actors reenact parts of his autobiography provide unprecedented insight into the nature of an abuser – in this case, one who is painfully self-aware. At the same time, the filmmaker relives her own past. The quiet, almost whispered commentary and the poetic, cinematic shots of sun-drenched landscapes, details of flowers and the sea in which Zymvragaki’s father would eventually die, leave room for the viewer’s own reflections. In addition to the effects and causes of violence, the film is also about identity and the longing for a home. (Thurn Film)”When filmmaker Efthymia Zymvragaki fled her native island of Crete as a young adult, she hoped to leave her violent childhood behind. But in Spain, her memories come flooding back when a man asks her to make a film about him and his violence. The encounters with Ernesto and his alter ego Juan, the frank conversations about the violent acts he committed, and the scenes in which he or actors reenact parts of his autobiography provide unprecedented insight into the nature of an abuser – in this case, one who is painfully self-aware. At the same time, the filmmaker relives her own past. The quiet, almost whispered commentary and the poetic, cinematic shots of sun-drenched landscapes, details of flowers and the sea in which Zymvragaki’s father would eventually die, leave room for the viewer’s own reflections. In addition to the effects and causes of violence, the film is also about identity and the longing for a home.” (Thurn Film)

,,Light Falls Vertical” is a film about Ernesto and his struggle with his patterns of violence and abuse. It is also a film about his partner Juliane and her reality of the intense presence and absence of the man in her life absence of the man in her life. And finally and above all, it is a film about me and my encounter with the torment of my past,my late father, the silence that permeated our dialogue, and the circles of violence. (The director, October 2022)

A good advice: If you have the time – go for a festival and stay there for the full period, it goes on. I had the luck – with my wife – to be for the 20th edition of ZagrebDox, invited because I was there for the first edition, where I was a juror for the international AND regional competition. Hard work, he was a tough guy back then, the founder and artistic director, Nenad Puhovski, this year he acted gently and put me in the short film jury – was he thinking that a 76 year old man might have problems with his bladder and would suffer if he was to watch feature length documentaries?

We were there for the whole week enjoying the atmosphere, seeing that there was a good audience, being spoiled with a hotel 5 minutes distance from the Kaptol Boutique Centre, second floor where 5 good cinema halls were waiting for people to be seated in nice and comfortable chairs. Good sound and good screen quality. The program of Nenad Puhovski and his programmers was excellent, what they do is to select the “Best of the Best” without thinking about the films having a premiere as so many festivals do. Which also gave me the chance to catch up on films that I missed at the CPH:DOX and SarajevoFF like the awarded “Four Daughters” by Kaouther Ben Hania and “Silence of Reasons” by Kumjana Novakova, the latter reviewed on this site (https://filmkommentaren.dk/kumjana-novakova-silence-of-reason/). The first one (info for the Danes) to be released in Copenhagen.

The award ceremony of the 20th edition had the fantastic “Kix” by Bálint Révész & Dávid Mikulán as the winner of three awards (review: https://filmkommentaren.dk/democracy-noir-kix/) and the mentioned “Four Daughters” as the number one in the Regional Competition. No Objections. We (I was joined by Croatian Miljenka Cogelja and Tomislav Pavlic) in the short film jury gave an honorary mention to the Estonian film “Boy” by Vladimir Loginov; the film has another Vladimir as the main protagonist, a well known monster, who is making his new year’s speech with the director cutting now and then to a boy, a soldier who stands behind him. 10 minutes long it is, I could not help thinking about Herz Frank and Juris Podnieks 1978 masterpiece “10 minutes Older”.

Our main prize went to “In Transit” by Lucija Brkić (photo) and here is the motivation: “Using a direct documentary language, the director captures the work of a colorful, charismatic young woman who wants to help migrants in need on their way to an uncertain future. It is a film full of talented observation and compassion that conveys moments of one of the biggest problems facing Europe today”. The young activist, a true hero, Tinka Ines Kalajzic, was on stage and made a long speech that you can read on her FB page.

We made it to the Museum of Broken Relationship, what a great invention with all these stories behind what was left when the split up happened. Stories, yes stories like those told at ZagrebDox, which is a festival that meets you with warmth and a program that Nenad Puhovski can be proud of. I am sure he is!

Love that film. It’s beautiful shot, it has a modest and yet charismatic Amber as the main protagonist, who – with a colleague – is conducting – on behalf of the authorities – interview sessions to find out whether Bhutan is a happy country with happy inhabitants. For the purpose of finding out whether official policies should be changed. The questions the villagers are answering shift from “how are you sleeping” to “how many cow do you have” and in many cases the films stays with the people interviewed and tell their stories, which are not always pure happiness.

Impressive and touching is the story about the 17 year old girl, whose parents divorced; she now lives with her mother, who drinks too much, and her little sister, who she helps with her homework from school. She loves her mother and helps her as much as possible but contrary to schoolmates, she does not have a boyfriend.

And there is the man who suffers after the death of his wife and tries to achieve information whether he will meet her again in after-life.

And the man who wants to be a woman, she acts and is in her sadness close to her mother; we understand that it is not easy to be a transsexual in Bhutan.

And there is the man who has three wives and gets 10 points on all the questions put to him, whereas one of the wives depicts how terrible he can be, seeking consolation in a fine relationship to the other two wives.

The film’s red thread, however, goes with Amber and his longing for happiness as he wants a wife, and children, but the number one candidate, to whom he has proposed, goes to Australia, where he can not go as he can not get a passport – if I get it right, he is born in Bhutan but Nepalese, therefore? His colleague helps him put together a personal letter to the King asking to get a passport so he can move around. Amber is also a very caring son of his old mother, several scenes are full of poetry. Well, many scenes have this poetic dimension.

Atmosphere and tone is what we want from a documentary. This film delivers both. The cinematography catches beauty, not only the landscapes but also the faces, the homes – and the tone has humor, at the same time as the poverty of not all but many of the portrayed Bhutanese is obvious.

What an enjoyable visit to a small country, we know so little about.

Bhutan, Hungary, 2024, 94 mins.

The Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival DocsBarcelona presents the titles that will be part of its 27th edition, a showcase of the best of the world’s documentary production, which this year renews its structure and proposes a program to question colonialisms.  
On the one hand, Docs&Pearls, with an international and competitive character, will be from now on the Official Section of the festival. Docs&Cat will accompany Catalan talent, and the non-competitive thematic section Docs&Love will screen six feature films dedicated to different expressions and forms of love. The classic Docs&Teens and DOC-U will complete a festival that from May 2 to the 12 will offer a program of 40 documentaries and 10 short films. With the CCCB and the Renoir Floridablanca Cinemas as venues, and Filmin as a virtual window, this continues to be an essential cultural event in the Catalan capital. In the words of the Festival’s artistic director, Anna Petrus: “this year’s Docs will be full of discoveries and doors that open to invite us to walk along paths not yet explored, full of questions and tools to unlearn and relearn different ways of thinking and being in the world“.  
Likewise, the 27th edition of DocsBarcelona will pay tribute to the prestigious tandem formed by French filmmakers Raymond Depardon and Claudine Nougaret, who will receive this year’s Honorary DocsBarcelona Award. This award includes a retrospective in collaboration with the Filmoteca de Catalunya, with the screening of Journal de France(2012) and two titles signed by Depardon: 10e Chambre (2004) and La Vie Moderne(2008).  
The festival will open on May 2 with Agent of Happiness, a co-production between Hungary and Bhutan directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó that was presented at the Sundance Festival and questions Bhutan’s label as the happiest country on the planet. On May 11, the festival will announce its list of winners at a gala to be held at the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB). All about the films to be screened: https://docsbarcelona.com