26th BALTIC SEA FORUM FOR DOCUMENTARIES
Riga, Latvia
INDUSTRY DATES: 5 – 9 September 2022
| Pitching Sessions | 8 – 9 September 2022 |
| Pitch Training Workshop | 5 – 7 September 2022 (for online participants may vary) |
| CE MEDIA Workshop on mental health issues in documentary filmmaking | 7 September 2022 |
| Forum Description | An international pitching forum focused on feature length creative documentary projects from the Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe, Caucasus region. The event consists of preparatory workshop for 18 selected projects, pitching sessions and individual meetings, as well as seminars and a film programme. It is the only pitching forum in the Baltic region focused only on documentaries. It was established in 1997, and its organizer is National Film Centre of Latvia. |
| Forum format in 2022 | In-person event in Riga, with a possibility for project representatives and decision makers to participate online if onsite attendance is not possible. |
| Decision makers of BSD 2021 | Natalia Arshavskaya, Current Time TV, USA Christa Auderlitzky, Filmdelights, Austria Thomas Beyer, MDR, Germany Zdenek Blaha, Institute of Documentary Film, Czech Republic Sabine Bubeck-Paaz, ZDF/Arte, Germany Kim Christiansen, DR Sales, Denmark Aleksandra Derewienko, Cat & Docs, France Charlotte Gry Madsen, SVT, Sweden Wouter Jansen, Square Eyes, Austria Marcella Jelic, Taskovski Films, UK Natsu Kawakami, NHK, Japan Jo Lapping, BBC, UK Anton Mazurov, Antidote Sales, Russia Nevena Misasinovic, Lightdox, Switzerland Liina Murd, ERR, Estonia Tomasz Piechal, TVP, Poland Anna Platpīre, LTV, Latvia Fatma Riahi, Al Jazeera, Qatar Madeline Robert, Visions du Reel, Switzerland Alex Szalat, Docs Up Fund, France Esther van Messel, First hand Films, Switzerland Jenny Westergaard, YLE, Finland More info: here |
| Awards | TBA |
| Who can apply | · Independent production companies from the wider Baltic Sea Region countries (eligible countries in 2022: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden) · Independent production companies from Eastern Europe and Caucasus region (not eligible in 2022: production companies from Russia, Belarus) · Independent production companies from other European countries if the project relates to the regions and eligible countries specified above. |
| What kind of projects | Producers may enter up to 3 projects each. Apart from feature length creative documentaries the BSD also provides a platform for cross media projects and documentary animations. One project may be submitted for selection for up to 3 times. Projects pitched in the previous editions are ineligible. Priority is given to projects having some financial commitment from broadcasters or film institutions, however it is not essential for being selected. Projects by first time filmmakers are also welcome and eligible. |
| Application Deadline | 10 June 2022 |
| Application process | Fill in an online Application Form (while filling out the form, we suggest to save it regularly to ensure that the information is stored properly), providing following (in English): · short description of the production company, producer and director (max 150 words each),· short synopsis of the project (max 50 words), · long synopsis of the project (400-600 words), · print quality photo representing the project, photo of the producer and other filmmakers pitching the project, · a link to the trailer/visual material of the current project (mandatory already for the selection process). |
| Application and participation fees | There is no application and participation fee |
| Catalogue | A project catalogue will be produced and distributed to the decision makers prior to the pitching sessions containing one-page description of the production company, producer and director, one-page synopsis of the project, a photo representing project and photos of the filmmakers pitching the project. |
| Contact Details for Application | The link to application form is available online at balticseadocs.lv. For any further enquiries, you are very welcome to contact us at balticforum@nkc.gov.lv or call +371 26054287. |
| Selection | Selection of projects made by an international Selection Committee will be announced by 11 July 2022, and the producers will be notified about the results via e-mail. The main criteria of the selection will be the international potential of the project entered. The decisions of the Selection Committee will be final. |
| Observers | Producers may attend BSD as observers without pitching a project, filling in an online Application form by 10 August 2022. |
| Pitching | Each project has 7 minutes for pitching, with further time for discussion. The pitch has to be supported with a trailer (subtitled in English). The presentation of the project should be done in English. |
| Individual Meetings | Individual meetings with decision makers will be held on 8-9 September (20 min per meeting). |
| Workshops | A Pitching Training Workshop will be organized from 5 – 7 September in Riga. The pitchers will work intensively on their project presentation with the aid of 6 international tutors with extensive industry experience lead by documentary consultants Mikael Opstrup and Tue Steen Müller. In addition to this, a professional editor will give advice on the structure of trailers. Online participants will have individual consultations with the tutros (the specific dates will be communicated directly to the project participants). We strongly advise to take part in the workshop, as its usefulness has been proven over the years.
TUTORS, BSD 2021 More info: here |
| Film Programme | Parallel to the Baltic Sea Forum industry activities, a programme of selected documentary films will be screened from 5 – 11 September 2022. The program will have a special section on Ukraine. |
| All Deadlines | 10 June 2022 – project submission 11 July 2022 – announcement of selected projects 10 August 2022 – observer registration |
| We look forward to receiving your projects! |