The Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF) is proud to highlight the continued international presence of its alumni across major film markets and industry events. During this year’s Festival de Cannes, Baltic Shorts will be present at the Short Film Corner (SFC) | Rendez-vous Industry from 17–20 May with a multifaceted programme introducing international industry professionals to Baltic talent and collaboration opportunities.
A central moment of this year’s programme will be the panel “Why the Baltics? Co-Producing and Connecting with Baltic Talent”, taking place on Sunday, 17 May, from 13:30 to 15:00 at the Baltics Pavilion. The session will address a question of growing relevance within the European film industry: why are international partners increasingly turning to the Baltics? Bringing together producers and industry professionals with direct experience in cross-border collaboration, the discussion will explore the region’s working practices, creative strengths, and production environment, while also identifying practical pathways for initiating new partnerships. Particular attention will be given to short films as a development space where many long-term collaborations begin.
The panel will feature BPF alumni producers Marianne Ostrat (Alexandra Film), Alise Ģelze (White Picture) and Greta Akcijonaitė (Magic Film), alongside Julie Rousson from long-standing BPF partner Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Rimantė Daugėlaitė, Head of Lithuanian Shorts and the Baltic Pitching Forum. The discussion will be moderated by BPF selection committee member Lauma Kaudzīte (Short Film Conference / RIGA IFF / European Short Pitch).
Alongside the panel, Baltic Shorts will contribute to the New Producers Room programme at SFC | Rendez-vous Industry with participant Dārta Krāsone (Latvia), also a BPF alumna, highlighting a new generation of producers already working within the European co-production landscape. Krāsone presented the short film project Baranki at the Baltic Pitching Forum in 2022.
This year, Baltic Shorts presents a selection of the newest short films from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, curated into the “Baltic Shorts 2026 Collection”. Available in the SFC Video Library and Market Catalogue, the collection offers an overview of contemporary Baltic filmmaking, bringing together a diverse slate of fiction, documentary, and animation works that reflect both strong artistic voices and internationally relevant themes.
Lithuanian films highlight the region’s engagement with memory, identity, and emotional landscapes. Neiplis, Florida (dir. Modesta Žemgulytė) revisits a family migration story through a deeply personal documentary lens, tracing the long-term psychological impact of displacement. Pacific Islands (dir. Adas Burkšaitis) unfolds as a quiet, atmospheric fiction piece reflecting on nostalgia and the persistence of the past, while Conductor (dir. Antanas Skučas) offers a visually distinctive animated vision of control, harmony, and individual agency within a collective system.
From Estonia, Room Number (dir. Silvia Lorenzi) weaves together intersecting characters searching for intimacy and belonging, while Big Zeus (dir. Johannes Magnus Aule) explores moral conflict and redemption through a darkly ironic story of a priest entangled in gambling addiction.
From Latvia, Carbon-14 (dir. Anna Konovalova) takes the form of an essayistic documentary linking personal memory with broader geopolitical histories, examining how invisible traces of conflict permeate everyday life. In contrast, Thank You for Your Review (dir. Līva Polkmane, Marta Šleiere) presents a sharply observed fiction narrative in which social dynamics unravel over the course of a single dinner, revealing tension, insecurity, and miscommunication with both humour and precision.
Two of the seven films in the collection are BPF alumni projects: Thank You for Your Review (presented at BPF in 2023) and Conductor (presented at BPF in 2022).
Also, another BPF alumni project, Tropic of the Mourning Gecko by Stavros Markoulakis (Greece), has been selected for the Short Film Corner | Rendez-vous Industry 2026 programme “Focus WiP”. Markoulakis presented the project at the Baltic Pitching Forum in 2023.
Baltic Shorts’ presence at the Short Film Corner (SFC) | Rendez-vous Industry at the Cannes Film Festival is supported by partners including the Estonian Film Institute, PÖFF Shorts, National Film Centre of Latvia, Latvian Short Film Agency, 2ANNAS International Short Film Festival, Riga International Film Festival, Lithuanian Film Centre, and Lithuanian Shorts, reflecting a shared strategic approach to international collaboration and visibility.
The 14th edition of the Baltic Pitching Forum will take place on 6–9 October 2026.
Read more about Short Film Corner (SFC) | Rendez-vous Industry: https://cinemadedemain.festival-cannes.com/en/
