Business@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the Baltic region’s leading business confab and sidebar of the Black Nights Movie Competition, has revealed the shortlist of 17 films from 15 countries chosen for its three Works in Progress classes: Worldwide Works in Progress, Baltic Event Works in Progress (from the Baltics and Finland) and Simply Movie Works in Progress (for young adults and young adults).
The projects – which are in production or post-production and seek sales, extra coins and competition platforms – will be presented to more than 500 commercial delegates from at least 45 countries on November 21st and 22nd.
Sponsors and programmers who first encountered little gems like Berlin winner “20,000 Species of Bees” from Spain for the first time in Tallinn can keep an eye out for this year’s WiP program. “It’s exciting, strong and very diverse!” said Marge Liiske, head of Business@Tallinn & Baltic Event. “From the Baltic countries, we have slightly fewer projects this year, as many international co-productions have been postponed due to longer financing periods. But hopefully we will see this recovering next year!”
Triin Tramberg, in control of Work in Progress Worldwide, highlights the largest quantity and high quality of entries in all work-in-progress sections, probably related to Black Nights Goes to Cannes’ organized with the Marché du Movie.“ “Filmmakers with all probability. We know they have the opportunity to show films in post-production twice a year, so we are on their radar,” Tramberg said.
Standout projects among the six international works in progress include “Papers” about the notorious Panama Papers scandal, directed by heavyweight Panamanian director and producer Arturo Montenegro, who represented his country in the Oscar race with “Everyone Changes” (2019 ) and “Birthday Boy” (2023). The drama’s headliners are Megan Montaner (“HBO Max’s 30 Cash”) and Carlos Bardem (“Scorpion in Love,” “Cell 211”).
Three international projects are directorial debuts, including “Wolves” from Switzerland, by Jonas Ulrich, winner of the Locarno Golden Leopard in 2020 for his short “People on Saturday”, and “Inside”, from Germany, by Pascal Schuh, finalist Pupil Academy Award for “Songs of a Caretaker”. .
While the international works in progress are enormous in narrative and size, the four Baltic Event projects, chosen from 11 entries, share common narrative characteristics, according to segment supervisor Helen Räim. “We have four strong social dramas with powerful major characters, finding their way in love, desire and belonging, and even finding humor, no matter the circumstances. All films address the common theme of societal expectations, revealing the paradoxical reality of our events and questioning whether you can live freely regardless of age, time and place,” said Räim.
Lithuania dominates the list, with two majority and two minority co-productions, including the debut feature film “Renovation” by NY Columbia College alumna Gabrielė Urbonaitė. The film about existential doubts and a young woman’s attraction to a Ukrainian construction worker, when she is about to decide on her boyfriend, is produced by Uljana Kim, winner of the Eurimages Worldwide Co-production Award 2023.
From Estonia, emerging talent German Golub, winner of the Pupil Oscar for his short film “My Pricey Corpses”, will release the biopic “Our Erica” about bicycle owner Erika Salumäe, the first Estonian athlete to win a gold medal olympic. Marju Lepp produces for Filmivabrik.
Meanwhile, the Simply Movie section will feature its biggest slate ever, with two children’s projects and five youth films that tell “countless stories of people from different places and occasions,” according to section director Kärt Väinola. “These five films are aimed at children, but among them are also some coming-of-age stories that resonate with young adults as well,” she noted.
High-profile titles include “Little Elephant in the Forest”, by Dutch filmmaker Meikeminne Clinckspoor, nominated for an Emmy for the children’s series “Doopie” (2020), and “Terra Suja”, the directorial debut of Portuguese director Luis Campo (“Monte Clérigo” ).
Initiatives from International Works in Progress and Baltic Event Works in Progress will be eligible for the €7,000 ($7,600) best venture prize, partly sponsored by Prague-based post-production house Studio Beep. Jury members include Casey Baron, U.S. programming lead for the Tribeca Movie Competition; Julie Marnay, program supervisor at First Cut Lab and Alexis Cassanet, executive vice president of global sales and distribution at Gaumont.
The judges who will award the €1,000 ($1,100) Best Project Prize to Simply Movie Works in Progress include Janne Vierth, commissioner of the Swedish Movie Institute; Portuguese film and television screenwriter Teresa Lima, responsible for the youth competition Play, and German Eva-Maria Schneider-Reuter, media educator and creative director of the Sehpferdchen Movie Competition for the Generations,
Full summary of ongoing work around the world:
“Late shift,” (Stefanos Tsivopoulos, Greece, Romania)
Produced by Nikos Smpiliris (Boo Productions)
Maria Dragus and Penelope Tsilika star in the drama about a Romanian single mother with a history of activism, who struggles to fit into Greek society. Tsivopoulos’ directorial debut will be made in 2025.
“Stability,” (Björn Schürmann, Germany)
An exploration of the complexities of a father-daughter relationship marked by bodily distance. Directed and produced by Schürmann in a tight price range. “The project stands out for its low price and a very sincere story. An incredible example that it is possible to do great things with few resources,” said Tramberg.
“Papers,” (Arturo Montenegro, Panama, Spain, Uruguay)
A bold feature from multi-award-winning Montenegro (“Everyone Changes”) based on the real 2016 Panama Papers scandal, in which 11.5 million pieces of financial and legal data were leaked to the press to expose money laundering among the rich. In the photo, we follow the young lawyer Ana Mendez (Megan Montaner), caught in the middle of the global Panama Papers scandal. She must fight the system, the world’s media, and her personal moral compass to try to restore her fame and save her family. Q Movies is producing with El Sueño Eterno from Spain and Criatura Cine from Uruguay. Delivery set for December 28, 2024.
“Within,” (Pascal Schuh, Germany)
Based mainly on a true story. Thief Kasimir (Daniil Kremkin) uses an empty sofa to break into people’s homes and film their private moments. The recordings are given to Dr. Liebermann (Knut Berger), who watches them in an attempt to discover ways to actually feel emotions. The debut from rising talent Schuh, a 2022 Pupil Academy Awards finalist, is produced by U5 Filmproduktion. Premiere scheduled for January 2025.
“Wolves,” (Jonas Ulrich, Switzerland)
A coming-of-age drama about a young woman’s turbulent relationship with the enigmatic lead singer of a steel band, taking her on a journey of self-discovery that blurs the line between freedom and fanaticism. Producer Nicole Ulrich (Dynamic Body) said the pic’s center track was shaped specifically for the production, with Bartosz Bielenia of Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi” as lead vocalist. Delivery: February 2025.
“Face to face,” (Javier Marco, Spain, Belgium)
Functional size model from the helmer’s multi-award winning short film of the same name. Her first feature, “Josefina,” was nominated for three Goya Awards in 2022. Sonia Almarcha stars as well-known TV presenter Lina, who goes to the house of her social media hater (Manolo Solo) to confront him, but the two soon discover that they are not so different? Pecado Movies produces with LaCima Producciones, Langosta Movies, in co-production with Odessa Movies, Biograf Capital AIE and Bullet Proof Cupid. Launch scheduled for March 2025.
Simply Movie work-in-progress listing:
Youth Initiatives
“Little Elephant in the Forest,” (Netherlands)
Directed by Meikeminne Clinckspoor for 100prcnt Movie.
“Ella and companions: nature calls,” (Finland)
Directed by Elin Grönblom for Don Movies.
Youth/YA Assignments
“Aquarium,” (Georgia)
Directed by Tornike Bziava for Reactormonkey Movies, Buni Productions, 29plus7 Photos, Shengelaya Productions, Arebato Movies.
“Dirty Earth”, (Portugal, Italy)
Directed by Luis Campos for Matiné.
“Emi,” (Argentina, Uruguay)
Directed by Ezequiel Erriquez Mena for Rita Cine.
“Secret Supply,” (Czech, Slovakia)
Directed by Ján Sebechlebský for 8Heads Productions.
“The River,” (Chile, Argentina)
Directed by Cristóbal García for Vórtice Filmes.
Baltic Occasions Works in Progress:
“Name me calendar,” (Latvia, Lithuania)
Directed by Juris Poškus for Madara Melberga.
“Our Erika,” (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia)
Directed by German Golub for Filmivabrik.
“Sand in your hair” (Lithuania, Latvia)
Directed by Mantas Verbiejus for Fralita Filmes.
“Renewal,” (Lithuania)
Directed by Gabrielė Urbonaitė for Studio Uljana Kim.