Tallinn TV Beats picks 10 series for funding market

Ten drama projects will pitch for international backing in Tallinn next month.

Organisers have selected 10 series from 50 submissions for the TV Beats Co-Financing Market, which runs Nov. 16-17, according to Variety. A co-financing market is where producers meet broadcasters, streamers and funds to share the cost of making a show. The ten will also compete for the €50,000 ($56,000) Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award.

The lineup mixes established names with new voices. It includes spy thriller “Fortel” from Polish producer Darius Jablonski, “Stormbird” from Estonian filmmaker Kadri Kousaar, “When Devils Rule” from Spain’s Rodrigo Susarte and “The Inheritance” from Belgium, powered by producer Panenka.

“Stormbird” is set in Soviet-occupied Estonia in 1949 and follows a young female fugitive. The other six selected projects have yet to be detailed publicly.

The ten come from Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland and Spain, plus co-production partner Canada. All are from Eurimages member states, the group of countries that supports European co-production through the Council of Europe fund.

TV Beats is led by co-heads Roosa Toivonen and Petri Kemppinen. The market sits inside the TV Beats Forum, itself part of Industry Tallinn & Baltic Event running Nov. 9-20 alongside the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. That festival holds its 30th edition from Nov. 6-22.

For viewers, this means patience. These are shows at the funding stage, not finished series with air dates. More than 20 other, further-advanced series will also be shown at TV Beats Screenings and TV Beats Coming Soon, where buyers and festival programmers get a first look.

What makes this stand out is the practical stakes. A place on the list gives a writers’ room and a crew of a hundred or more a clearer path to a shoot. Without partners, many projects stall.