In the heart of central France, the pulse of the global film industry quickens as filmmakers, producers, and artistic film industry minds from every corner of the world gather at the 39th Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market taking place from 5 to 8 of February. Since 2013, the Lithuanian short film agency “Lithuanian Shorts” has been participating in Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market and from 2022, together with Latvian and Estonian partners, presents the “Baltic Shorts” stand, where the visitors are introduced to the newest Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian short films, industry events, festivals, and co-production possibilities.
“Baltic Shorts” consisting of most influential short film organisations and festivals: Lithuanian Short Film Agency “Lithuanian Shorts”, Vilnius Short Film Festival, PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival), the Estonian Film Institute, Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Riga International Film Festival, Latvian Animation Association and the National Film Centre of Latvia. They will be on hand to promote short films from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to the more than 3500 delegates attending the Short Film Market.
Baltic Shorts highlights and short films spotlighted at the special programmes
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival selected “Miisufy” by Estonian director Liisi Grünberg to the International Competition. The film has already gained popularity amongst film festivals, it has been selected for Sundance Film Festival 2024 program and even won the Special Jury Mention at the American Film Institute’s AFI Fest.
On Wednesday, 7th of February, a film collection containing the freshest short films from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will be showcased at the market screening. Seven animation and fiction films will be made available for industry professionals to experience the brightest and freshest new films from the region. In this collection, Lithuania is represented by two films: Egė Davidavičė’s animated short film “The One Who Knows” and Ada Burkšaitis’ fiction film “Left-Handed Pen”. Many of the films are work-in-progress or just recently finished and looking for distribution, sales opportunities or festival premieres. The screening will be followed by the Baltic Shorts “Meet & Greet”.
Euro Connection, the two-day pitching and networking event aimed at fostering partnerships between European and international production companies, will see the Lithuanian project “OUT” (dir. Kristijonas Dirsė) as one of the 12 projects pitched to industry professionals. Gaining its place at Euro Connection after winning the Baltic Pitching Forum 2023, the film is a dark yet funny Christmas tale about a closeted gay man, who becomes invisible during a family dinner. Additionally Latvian producer Agne Skane from film studio ATOM ART will join Producers Focus as one of six producers invited to be part of Euro Connection that gives exclusive opportunity to present their company, and their approach to short films and co-production.
Two films from Baltic countries have been selected for the festivals special programme “Panorama: European Female Filmmakers” to explore a new generation of talented directors – “Lisa, Go Home!” by director Oksana Buraja (Lithuania) and “Manivald” by Chintis Lundgren (Estonia). Meanwhile, at the festival’s video library, short films “Expectations and Other Products” (dir. Dali Rust, Lithuania), “Jungle Law” (dir. Madli Lääne, Estonia) and “The Last Visit” (dir. Keawalee Warutkomain, Estonia) were chosen for the special category “Short Film Market Picks” with other the latest short films.
Lithuanian delegation showcases industry’s best practices
Rimantė Daugėlaitė-Cegelskienė, the head of “Lithuanian Shorts” agency, is presenting Lithuanian National Radio and Television LRT in the ‘Buyers’ Presentations’ program. LRT is the first broadcaster in the Baltic countries to broadcast short films. R. Daugėlaitė-Cegelskienė will also participate in „Women in the Film Industry: 3 European Initiatives“ talking about “Lithuanian Shorts” initiative – Batic Women in Film Mentorship, which is successfully running for a third season.
Concurrently, Gabrielė Cegialytė, the managing director of the Vilnius Short Film Festival, will participate in the “Short Film Conference panel: Inclusive Cinema”. This discussion focuses on accessibility in film festivals, with Gabrielė presenting insights from this year’s Vilnius Short Film Festival. G. Cegialytė together with Vilnius Short Film Festival programmer Andrius Blaževičius will be participating at the “Meet the Festivals” event dedicated to filmmakers.
For more information on those attending Clermont, and the films and events on offer, visit www.lithuanianshorts.com.
