BPF 2026 - Lectures

A pitch is a very particular situation: you are talking about a film that does not yet exist in its final form. You have to make people imagine something they cannot see yet. A strong pitch does more than explain what your film is about. It should also give a sense of what the film will feel like. How can we translate the mood and atmosphere of a film into an oral presentation? In this lecture, we will look at practical tools to analyse your project, identify its core and communicate its essence. Because a good pitch is not simply about having the right information – it is about knowing your project well enough to make others understand and, most importantly, feel what your film is about. The aim is to find the most compelling way to bring your film to life – even before it exists on screen.

Gabriele Brunnenmeyer is a script and project consultant, pitching coach and always on the search for talents. She ran the MEDIA Antenna Berlin-Brandenburg, worked for Kuratorium Junger Deutscher Film in the area of young talent support and has developed industry events including Connecting Cottbus, the IDM Film Conference Incontri and MDM’s Meet Your Neighbour in Leipzig. Alongside working on script development with European writer/directors,

she consults for several European Training Programs as HerArts FilmLab, Midpoint Shorts, Midpoint Feature Launch, KVIFF Eastern Promises Industry Days, AKM (Akademie for Children Media), MDM Kontakt, Cutting Edge Talent Camp, Baltic Pitching Forum, SFC Cannes / Rendez-Vouz-Industry, New Horizons Studio, Sarajevo Talents-Pack& Pitch and others.

In partnership with Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Lithuania

In the current industry rhetoric, artificial intelligence promises creative acceleration, cost reduction, and productivity gains. In practice, it also amplifies existing advantages while threatening to flatten the distinctiveness that makes film projects appealing in the first place. The seminar examines key implications of working with Generative AI: its ethical and ecological costs, the cognitive risks of uncritical adoption, and the strategic question of where human judgement remains irreplaceable, offering a critical framework for integrating AI into creative practice without outsourcing one’s thinking. 

Nicolò Gallio is a marketing strategist and audience designer working across fiction films, documentaries and TV series, with a background in PR, media relations and content management for audiovisual projects, brands and non-profit organisations. He is senior strategist at the marketing agency Alphapanda and an advisor and trainer for TorinoFilmLab’s audience design initiatives, helping scriptwriters, directors and producers shape strategies for their projects. Over the past ten years he has delivered keynotes, masterclasses and workshops at international film labs, festivals, funds and talent development programmes. He holds a PhD in Film Studies from the University of Bologna, where his research examined how audiovisual works are produced, consumed and critically received across offline and digital environments.

How are strong, long-lasting director–producer partnerships built and what makes both sides want to work together again and again? This seminar will explore how to find the right creative partner, recognise potential incompatibilities, balance creative ambitions with production realities and give and receive criticism without damaging trust. Drawing on practical experience, it will look at the unwritten rules, values and working practices that can turn a one-off collaboration into a sustainable professional relationship.

Anne-Laure Guégan graduated from INSAS Film School in Brussels in 1995. After a 25-year career as a film editor, during which she won the Magritte Award for Best Editing, she transitioned into film production in 2014. In 2015, Anne-Laure Guégan and her partner, Géraldine Sprimont, took over the management of NEED PRODUCTIONS, which has produced and co-produced more than one hundred films since its founding in 1999. She is committed to ensuring that her editorial choices reflect her core values. She produces and co-produces films that expose inequality and exclusion while giving a voice to underrepresented communities and shedding light on overlooked or forgotten aspects of society. She oversees the company's in-house project development and the selection of international co-production projects. Alongside her producing activities, she also works as a script consultant and editing consultant. She is a member of ACE Animation, EAVE, EURODOC and EWA.

Small countries with complicated histories and lower production budgets tend to raise a particular kind of talent – sharp, self-aware, unwilling to waste a word. The Baltics are among them. But here, we’ve been making world-class creative work for decades. What we haven’t always had is the confidence to call it what it is. Simona Inta and Viktorija Cook are done with this situation. They’ve built the Baltic Talent Agency around one belief: the work doesn’t need softening, translating, or shrinking to travel. It needs to walk in the room like it already belongs.

At The Baltic Pitching Forum, they’re making this case loud and clear: claiming space isn’t ego; it’s responsibility. If you’ve ever hedged a pitch, softened an accent, or apologised for where you’re from before anyone asked you to, this keynote is for you.

Simona Inta (Co-founder, Baltic Talent Agency): International creative and brand strategist with a decade across Europe, Australia and Asia — leading campaigns for such clients as Converse, Dior, L’Oréal, in New York, London, Paris, and Sydney. Former Account Director at Kindred Agency Hong Kong, with a master’s from Institut Français de la Mode Paris and executive study at Oxford’s Saïd Business School. Fluent in six languages, she turns creative talent into commercial propositions and opens international doors.

Viktorija Cook (Co-founder, Baltic Talent Agency): Over a decade across international film sales, acquisitions, producing and festival programming. Her credits include Renovation (Karlovy Vary IFF) and Toxic (Locarno IFF, Winner). Former sales and acquisitions lead at Film Republic in London, and a regularly invited pitching expert from Connecting Cottbus to FICCI Cartagena and MIFF 37°South Market. She now channels that network and years of industry relationships into Baltic Talent, connecting the region’s creatives with the international stages they deserve.

In this session, Italian Film Commissions presents a practical guide for international producers looking to co-produce with Italy. Discover the strength of the Italian regional audiovisual ecosystem, including an overview of regional film funds, financial incentives, and the strategic advantages of combining local support with national tax credits. Learn how Italy’s network of regional Film Commissions offers free, comprehensive services – ranging from location scouting and permitting to connecting with local crews and suppliers – making Italy the ideal, streamlined co-production destination for your next project.

Jacopo Chessa majored in film history and worked largely on the 1950s and 1960s in French cinema. He has published two books and several articles, and collaborated with the National Film Archive of the Resistance, the University of Turin, and Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle University. Since early 2014, he has been the director of Aiace Nazionale, the first Italian association of art-house cinemas, and the Italian Short Film Center. In 2016, he founded the Torino Short Film Market, which he directed until 2020. He worked as contract professor at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3 from 2017 to 2019. Since 2020, he has been the director of the Veneto Film Commission, and since late 2024, he has served as president of Italian Film Commissions.

The Italian Short Film Center has operated since 2007 as an agency and archive for promoting Italian short films abroad. Since 2016, the Center has also organized the ShorTO Film Market, an international meeting focused on professional development and networking within the global short film industry. This presentation will focus on ShorTO’s history and current calls for projects, providing insights into the upcoming edition on 28-30 November 2026.

Elena Ciofalo has ten years of experience in cultural project management between Turin and Aosta. Since October 2025, she has directed the Italian Short Film Center, where she started as Project Manager in 2023. Co-founder of AIACE VDA, which promotes film culture in the Aosta Valley and organizes the Bref International Short Film Festival, she managed historical and civic projects for the Cultural Foundation Polo del ’900 between 2018 and 2023. Formerly a producer for Cinefonie, she has also collaborated with Europe Direct and Creative Europe Desk Italy MEDIA in Turin.

The Baltic Pitching Forum is always proud of its alumni and passionate about following their journeys after the pitch in Vilnius. In this traditional session, two alumni will share how their projects moved from pitch to production. Through their presentations, they will discuss the challenges encountered, lessons learned and offer valuable advice to fellow filmmakers navigating the international market.

Gintė Regina is a Lithuanian filmmaker working across artist film and narrative fiction. Her short films have been presented at venues including the British Film Institute and Whitechapel Gallery in London, and at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius. Her solo exhibitions include Outpost, Norwich (2025), CCA Derry~Londonderry (2020), and GAO, London (2018). Her latest short, On Conductor Street, was developed during the Baltic Pitching Forum and funded by the Lithuanian Film Centre. It had its national premiere at Vilnius IFF Kino pavasaris and its international premiere at Busan ISFF. Gintė is currently developing her debut feature film.

Akvilė Žilionytė is a Lithuanian film producer, writer and founder of ARTIŠOKAI. With a background in literature and film directing, she has produced over ten short documentary and fiction films, screened at festivals including Ji.hlava IDFF, Busan International Short Film Festival, Filmfest Dresden and Drama International Short Film Festival. While her main focus is on feature-length films, she continues to produce one or two short films each year. Her recent feature documentary In Passing (2025) received the East Silver Caravan Award at Beldocs. She is an alumna of EURODOC, ESoDoc and IDFA Academy.

“Who is Taking Care of Short Films?” brings together European short film sales, distribution and television companies to give filmmakers a practical insight into how they work and what they are looking for. Representatives will present their catalogues and acquisition practices, including how many films they take on, what types of films they seek, and which rights and territories they cover.

Presentations by
Simone Bardoni (Lights On, Italy)
Olivier Berlemont (oriGine Films, France)
Eva Schweizer (SRF TV, Switzerland)
Sari Volanen (YLE TV, Finland) 
Stine Wangler (Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg, Germany)