ZAGREB: The 3rd edition of the BLEND: Film & Games conference took place on 23 and 24 October 2026 at the Algebra Bernays University in Zagreb, focusing on how film, television, and video games increasingly merge to build unified creative worlds.

  • Industry@Shorts, the rebranded industry arm of PÖFF Shorts, will take place from November 13–14, 2026.
  • The two-day event aligns with the Baltic focus running throughout the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).
Dear EPI community,

Autumn is in full swing, and this issue brings plenty of new faces. We introduce the 15 professionals of the fifth AUDIOVISUAL WOMEN cohort, who head to Tallinn next month, and welcome MovieLedger as a new partner of our European Film Business and Law programme. Looking ahead, our online seminar AI in Film and TV: A Legal Update gets you up to speed on copyright, data protection and the EU AI Act. And we look back on three inspiring days of IP Development for Creative Professionals in Potsdam as well as Clearing Rights for Film & TV in Berlin.

The EPI team

PODGORICA: The Film Centre of Montenegro has distributed 1,302,000 EUR as production grants for 22 projects including feature films, long documentaries, minority coproductions, and films already in production.

The following production grants were announced by the Film Centre of Montenegro on 20 October 2026.

VIENNA: FNE spoke with Kira Ruohonen about her experience with the Sustainability Management programme of the International Screen Institute and how this programme influenced the way she approaches work today.

BUCHAREST: Ioana Ruxandra Victoria Ciocan was officially invested as the new Minister of Culture of Romania on 20 October 2026 as the new PM’s Luca Niculescu’s Cabinet received the parliamentary vote of confidence and was officially sworn in by the President Nicusor Dan.

RIGA: Eleven projects are pitched at the RIGA IFF SHOWCASE, which is held from 23 to 25 October 2025 within the RIGA IFF FORUM of the 13th Riga International Film Festival.

BERLIN: The 11th European Arthouse Cinema Day has released the trailer for its 11th edition on 22 November 2026, and is welcoming cinemas across the world to join as registration is still open.

In 2026, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) will present a strong selection of documentaries in its two competition programmes with Doc@PÖFF International showcasing 11 world premieres from around the globe. In addition to the documentary programmes, the festival also announced its lineup of Special Screenings.