This year, Baltic Sea Docs celebrates its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of supporting documentary filmmakers from the Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and beyond. The 30th edition of the forum will take place from 6–11 September 2026. The project selection for the upcoming edition has concluded, and a total of 26 documentary projects will be presented.
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26 projects selected for the 30th Baltic Sea Docs
Every year, Baltic Sea Docs brings together documentary professionals from the Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and beyond – over 20 countries. As in previous years, the project selection features a strong presence from the Baltic states, Ukraine, Finland, Poland, among others.
Forum manager and member of the project selection committee, Zane Balčus reflects on this year’s selection:
“The theme of borders is strongly present in the submitted projects this year, both through engagement with current geopolitical developments and within historical contexts. This reflects the fragile and unstable state in which we are living today.
While personal stories in which the filmmaker is also the main protagonist or an active narrator are not a new trend, this approach was also particularly noticeable this year. It offers insight both into the realities faced by families today and into earlier historical periods that have affected the filmmakers and their loved ones.”
Questions of war, memory and borders emerge in projects such as Oleksiy Radynski’s Ravine and Tower and Ivars Zviedris’ The Crust of Europe, while Cords of Bliss by Kyrgyz filmmaker Janyl Jusupjan offers an intimate family story centred on her relationship with her brother, a renowned traditional musician living with hearing loss. The selection also embraces a range of cinematic approaches, from Vladimir Loginov’s P, a visually rich journey through the creation of a piano, to Lunatics, in which Finnish filmmaker Saila Kivelä explores women’s health through the lens of science and space exploration.
The full list of selected projects for this year’s edition of Baltic Sea Docs – here.
Baltic Sea Docs pitching sessions will take place on 10–11 September. In preparation for the pitches, the selected project teams will join a workshop led by international industry experts – the experienced documentary film consultant Tue Steen Müller and documentary developer Mikael Opstrup (Denmark). The tutor team will also include filmmakers Alexander Nanau (Romania/Germany) and Emma Davie (UK), as well as film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden).
The forum will be attended by film experts – film sales agents, representatives of international television broadcasters, festivals, and producers from across Europe and other parts of the world. Among them will be representatives of Japan’s NHK, Germany’s SWR, Ireland’s TG4, as well as film sales companies Rise and Shine (Germany), filmdelights (Austria), Mediawan (France), and others.
For the first time in Baltic Sea Docs, ARTE will present an award to support the development of one of the projects. Following the first ARTE European Talent Development Award handed out in DocsBarcelona earlier in May, ARTE will continue scouting for stories and talents in regional hubs, and Baltic Sea Docs is the most prominent one of the Baltic area. Selected from the main pitch, the winning team will receive a €10,000 development grant in exchange for a first-look deal on the project.
The forum also continues its long-standing collaboration with the post-production service provider BBPostHouse. The company will select one project to receive post-production services valued at EUR 3,000. Additional partner awards will be announced closer to the start of the forum.
Baltic Sea Docs was established on the Danish island of Bornholm in 1997 as a satellite event of the Balticum Film & TV Festival, which had been taking place since 1990 with the aim of promoting documentary cinema from the Baltic States. For many of today’s Baltic producers and directors, the forum has played an important role in gaining international recognition. Special events will be held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the forum – on 9 September, a series of discussions will reflect on the development of the documentary film sector in the Baltic Sea region and in the wider European context, while also looking ahead to future opportunities and exploring ways of reaching more diverse and younger audiences through different formats. Additionally, in cooperation with the association Avantis, the forum will host a photography showcase by Ukrainian filmmaker Roman Bondarchuk and the opening of an exhibition dedicated to his work.
Alongside the industry forum, a public screening programme of recent creative documentaries will take place in Riga and several regional towns between 8–13 September.
Baltic Sea Docs is organized by the National Film Centre of Latvia and supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.