Tallinn Festival Hosts Baltic Goes to Cannes Showcase

A partner for the fifth time to the Marché du Film’s Goes to Cannes Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – the Baltics’ biggest film event – has dedicated a curated program to films from the region for the first time. 

The five projects, among the current best from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will be pitched on May 16 in Cannes. All are in post and looking for co-financing, sales and festival exposure.

The Baltics are on a roll, flying high on Latvia’s first ever Oscar win with “Flow,” so why not build on that momentum and flag what’s next from the region, argues Black Nights Festival’s Triin Tramberg, curator of the program. “As Baltic [co-nationals] we couldn’t be happier of the success of Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” she stated. “We took seriously what [host] Conan O’Brien said at the Oscars – the ball is in our court, but we are generously giving the spotlight to all the Baltics.” 

She adds that, “I believe the five selected projects show the variety of quality we have, and am sure there is something for every taste.”

Indeed, the Tallinn Fest Goes to Cannes slate covers all genres, from Estonian dark comedy “O’Slaughter Day,” experimental “Mo Amor,” Lithuanian dramas “Oblivion”and “They Call Me Danka,” to Latvia’s crime “Red Code Blue.” Each titles stems from strong voices ready to light the international festival and arthouse circuits.

“Promoting the Baltics as a region is key to us,” says Tiina Lokk, head of the Tallinn Black Nights Fest, the only A-class film festival in Northern Europe. In 2024, it attracted more than
1,700 guests and journalists from 70 countries. The next edition runs Nov. 7-23.

“O’Slaughter Day,” (Seatapp), Estonia
Director: Ove Musting
After his acclaimed feature debut “Kalev” (Estonia’s 2022 Oscar entry) and hit series “Traitor” (“Reetur”) which just scooped best series, director and actress at Estonia’s national film and TV awards, Musting has set his upcoming tragicomedy in rural southern Estonia. Jaan Laugamõts produces for Downtown Pictures.

“Oblivion,” (Užmarštis), Lithuania
Director: Danielus Minkevicius
Minkevicius earned international recognition with his shorts “Crucifixion” (Palm Springs ShortFest 2020) and “Dance” (Camerimage 2021). His debut pic, co-penned by Kornelijus Stučkusis, is a psychological drama about a young sex worker who tracks her estranged father and enters his life under a false identity. Ieva Norviliene (“Vanishing Waves”) produces for Tremora.

“Mo Amor,” Estonia
Director: Eeva Mägi
The pic is Mägi’s third instalment in her trilogy, about “the human need for love and understanding from different perspectives. After the mother-daughter angle in “Mo Mamma,” winner of a Special Mention at Tallinn’s 2023 First Feature competition, and father-son turn in ‘Mo Papa,” pitched at last year’s Black Nights Goes to Cannes, “Mo Amor” explores how to love oneself and others. Mägi and Sten-Johan Lill produce for Kinosaurus Film.

“They Call Me Danka,” (Danka), Lithuania
Director: Dovile Gasiunaite A raw coming-of-age second pic by Gasiunaite about a teen girl who struggles as the only “adult” in her family. Artūras Dvinelis produces for Filmai LT, with associate producer Juliana Miliut.

“Red Code Blue,” (Tumšzilais Evaņģēlijs), Latvia
Director: Oskars Rupenheits
Segueing from Rupenheits’s hit debut “The Foundation of Criminal Excellence,” the crime pic, set in post-Soviet Latvia’s 1990s, turns on a young private eye who learns the hard way that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Sintija Andersone, Oskars Rupenheits, Juris Pīlēns produce for Kef Studio.