14-05-2023

Baltic Sea Docs 2023 announces call for projects

    BSD2022 BSD2022 photo: Agnese Zeltina

    Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (BSD) is the most important documentary co-financing pitching event in the Baltic countries, taking place in Riga, Latvia. The 27th edition is scheduled to take place onsite from 3 – 10 September 2023. The call for projects is open now and will close on 12 June.

    Baltic Sea Docs is looking for applications from independent production companies from the wider Baltic Sea region countries, Eastern Europe and Caucasus region, and from other countries if the documentary subject relates to the region. Due to Russia’s full scale invasion in Ukraine, production companies from Russia and projects focusing on Russia are excluded from the possibility to apply.

    The focus of the BSD is on full-length creative documentary projects, but cross-media applications are also welcome. The international selection committee will select 18 projects to be pitched for the international broadcasters, sales agents, film funds and other industry representatives.

    This year the BSD’s industry section will include two new activities. The Coming Soon session will feature several projects in the post production stage previously pitched at the BSD. In response to the continuously growing importance for co-productions, a special networking event will be held to enhance even closer collaboration between Baltic and European producers (this event will be organized by CE Media desks initiative Travelling Docs). There will be separate calls for these activities.

    Participation at Baltic Sea Docs is free of charge. The selection results will be announced by 12 July. Guidelines and application form is accessible on the Baltic Sea Docs website.  

    Among the completed films presented as projects in the previous editions of the Forum are such films as Outside (directed Olha Zhurba, 2022, Ukraine, Denmark, Netherlands), The Jump (directed by Giedrė Žickytė, 2020, Lithuania, Latvia, France), My Favourite War (directed by Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen, 2020, Norway, Latvia), and many others.

    BSD is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Creative Europe Media programme “Markets & Networking”, and Limbaži Municipality. Parallel to the industry activities, Baltic Sea Docs is presenting a film program of recent documentaries.