“Baltic Women in Film Mentorship” (BWiFM) is the first mentorship program exclusively for women in all areas of film and TV industries in the Baltic states. Through mentorship activities, the BWiFM seeks to increase the exchange of best practice, knowledge, contacts and interest in the Baltic film culture and pay attention to gender equality. The core of the mentorship program is building an effective contact-exchange and matchmaking marketplace where women, working in the Baltic audiovisual industry, would have an opportunity to be mentored by the industry experts and encouraged to develop their professional skills, competences and create new audiovisual projects or services.
BWiFM is a one-to-one relationship, focused on the needs of the mentee to develop specific competencies, skills, and a problem-solving attitude, as well as on the availability and capability of the mentor to provide advice on those issues. It is a program where the experience and knowledge of the mentor match the specific needs of the mentee.
Duration of the program – 7 months (from October 2024 to April 2025).
The working language of the program is English.
The mentorship program is organized by the Lithuanian Short Film Agency “Lithuanian Shorts” and the “Women in Film & Television Lithuania” association, in partnership with the Riga International Film Festival (Latvia), Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia), “Meeting Point – Vilnius” (Lithuania), and the European Women Audiovisual Network (EWA, Belgium). Funding for the program was provided by the Nordic Cultural Institute “Nordic Culture Point” and the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.
The open call has been closed. Selected participants will be informed through the email.
Rules and regulations HERE.
There is no submission or participation fee.
ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS
Eligible candidates are Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian women under the age of 30, working in the Baltic audiovisual industry, who are eager to enter, transition within, or advance their careers in the film/TV industries and are committed to being mentored by industry professionals.
Selection criteria:
- Applicant’s motivation will be the key selection criterion;
- Clarity of their specific goal set for the mentorship program;
- Participant’s experience, motivation and professional growth potential.
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM STRUCTURE
• Matchmaking: mentees + mentors and their monthly individual meetings;
• Monthly online get together with mentees and industry guests;
• Self-education webinars and workshops;
• Visiting industry events at the international film festivals in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
The program will include the following activities for the selected participants**:
• Program introduction workshop;
• Monthly online gatherings-meetings for the mentees;
• Online webinars on such topics as mental health in the film industry, leadership, self-presentation;
• Industry events: attending Riga International Film Festival (Latvia), Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia), Vilnius Short Film Festival (Lithuania), Vilnius International Film Festival “Kino Pavasaris” (Lithuania) and its industry events.
** the activities’ list might change or vary due to unplanned circumstances
