First ever mentorship program for women filmmakers of the Baltic states

15-07-2021

First ever mentorship program for women filmmakers of the Baltic states

Mentorship has truly become a significant part of professional development. This is why the very first “Baltic Women in Film Mentorship 2021-2022” program, exclusively for women in film and TV industries of the Baltic states, is organized. The eight month mentorship welcomes women from various fields of these industries, whether they want to deepen their knowledge or change their career path. The call is open until 13th of August 2021.

Motivation is the main criterion

The mentorship applicants can be women from the Baltic countries, who are eager to learn from industry professionals or change their career paths. 15 participants (5 participants per each country) will be selected to take part in the “Baltic Women in Film Mentorship 2021-2022” program. It welcomes women from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, who already work in these industries, would like to change or continue their careers by deepening their professional knowledge and networking. There are no age restrictions or application fees; however, the participants have to attend the full program – both online and on-site events. The main criterion in the application selection is motivation, also, the applicant’s goals, experience and professional growth potential. The mentorship program is organized by Lithuanian short film agency “Lithuanian Shorts” and “Women in Film & Television Lithuania” association.

Encouraging Baltic women in all areas of the audiovisual sector

The mentorship program for women was started in Lithuania back in 2019 by one of the organizers – Lithuanian short film agency “Lithuanian Shorts”. Over the 3 years of the Lithuanian mentorship program, there have been a few success stories. The mentees have gained knowledge, skills and courage to pursue their dreams. Eglė Davidavičė, together with a mentor Agne Adomėne, have started working on an animation film, while the mentor of Emilija Petkūnaitė has become a producer of her documentary film, which managed to get national funding as well.

In 2021, together with the “Women in Film & Television Lithuania” association, the program is expanding to Latvia and Estonia. Through the mentorship activities, the network seeks both to pay attention to gender equality and to increase the exchange of best practice, knowledge, contacts and interest in the Baltic film culture.

The structure of the mentorship program

Over the course of 8 months (September 2021 – May 2022) the participants will be involved in 3 networking sessions to meet the mentors and each other, 3 self-education webinars on leadership, negotiation and self-promotion and 3 industry events during Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian film festivals. Moreover, there participants will have a chance to spend a whole working day with their mentor, film or TV professional with at least 5 years of experience.

The “Baltic Women in Film Mentorship 2021-2022” program is financed by Nordic Culture Point and is organized in partnership with Meeting Point Vilnius, Riga IFF and PÖFF. It seeks to encourage women to develop their professional skills, competencies and create new audiovisual projects or services. The working language of the program is English.