Tallinn market selects 15 projects for November pitch

Fifteen films in early development will pitch for international partners in Tallinn this November after the Baltic Event Co-Production Market revealed its 2026 lineup, Variety reported on Oct. 13.

The pitching sessions run Nov. 18-20. They are organised as part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the industry sidebar of Tallinn's Black Nights Film Festival.

Competition was tight. The 15 titles were chosen from 110 submissions from 34 countries, according to Variety.

The selected projects span 10 territories: Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. Six of the 15 come from the Baltic countries. Eight are feature debuts, meaning the director has not made a cinema feature before.

A co-production market is a meeting place for unfinished films. Producers present scripts and budgets to potential partners from other countries who can share costs, unlock public funding and handle release in their own territories.

All 15 projects will compete for the 20,000 euro ($22,300) Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, development money to help move the winning film toward production. The jury includes Eurimages representative Stefan Prohorov, Red Sea Souk director Holly Daniel and Estonian producer Ivo Felt of Allfilm, Variety reported.

Among the titles named are "La Korena" by Basque director Joana Moya, produced by Sirimiri Films, and "Wild Love" directed by Lithuanian Jonas Trukanas for Afterschool. The list also includes "Family Squad", a Ukrainian-German-Czech project from Ukraine's Animagrad studio.

What makes this stand out for newcomers is the mix. First-time directors sit alongside more experienced teams, and smaller Baltic projects pitch next to titles from larger production countries.

The market forms part of a wider industry programme running Nov. 9-20. This year's Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event is its 25th edition.