Baltic Region’s Largest Short Film Industry Event Kicks Off in Vilnius

Baltic Pitching Forum, running from 6-9 October in Vilnius, becomes a meeting point for the international short film industry 

Between 6–9 October the 14th Baltic Pitching Forum (BPF) welcomes a record number of international industry guests. Festival programmers, producers, distributors, broadcasters and representatives of industry platforms will meet filmmakers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Italy, which will be the guest country of this year’s BPF.

At the heart of the Forum are 12 short film projects currently in development, ready to be pitched to the international industry with an aim to connect to potential partners and explore where their films might go next.

This year’s guests include programmers from leading international film festivals such as Locarno, PÖFF Shorts, Concorto and Filmfest Dresden; sales and distribution professionals from companies including Lights On, Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg and oriGine Films; as well as representatives of Finland’s Yle TV and Switzerland’s SRF TV. Producers and representatives of film markets, co-production platforms and other international film organisations will also travel to Vilnius.

Since 2019, Baltic Pitching Forum has invited a different European country to join filmmakers from the three Baltic states. This year’s Guest Country is Italy. This builds on a partnership developed over several years between the Baltic Pitching Forum, the Italian Short Film Center and Turin-based short film industry market ShorTO Film Market. Last year, ShorTO Film Market selected Lithuania as its focus country; this year, the exchange continues, with Italian projects and film professionals travelling to Vilnius.

“Over the past fourteen years, we have seen that the Forum’s value lies not only in the projects presented here, but also in the long-term professional relationships that begin in Vilnius. Some filmmakers return with new projects, while industry professionals come back in search of new talent and potential partners. This year, we are welcoming a record number of international guests, but what matters most to us is not the number itself, but the diversity of their professional backgrounds and perspectives. For smaller film industries such as those in the Baltic states, being part of an ongoing international professional network is particularly important,” says Baltic Pitching Forum Head Rimantė Daugėlaitė.

The return of Forum alumni with new projects is also reflected in this year’s line-up. Producer Giedrė Burokaitė has had projects presented at Baltic Pitching Forum on five occasions. In recent years, she produced Saulė Bliuvaitė’s debut feature Toxic, which won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. This year, Burokaitė returns to the Forum with Nina Chubinishvili’s animated film project The Phonebook.

While Baltic Pitching Forum is primarily aimed at film industry professionals, part of its programme will be open to anyone interested in the film sector and the issues currently shaping it. On Wednesday, 7 October, Italian marketing strategist and audience designer Nicolò Gallio will present Short Films, Big Stakes: What AI Can and Cannot Do for Filmmakers, exploring the ethical, environmental and creative implications of generative AI, as well as the point at which its capabilities reach their limits and human judgement remains essential. Later that day, Belgian film producer Anne-Laure Guégan will lead the seminar Building a Sustainable Relationship Between Director and Producer, focusing on how lasting and sustainable professional relationships can be built between producers and filmmakers. On Friday, 9 October, Baltic Talent Agency co-founders Simona Inta and Viktorija Cook will address the international visibility of Baltic film talent in Let’s Stop Whispering, The Baltic Moment (Your Moment) Is Now, discussing how creatives from the region can position themselves more confidently within the global film industry. The Forum will also feature further talks and discussions on current challenges and opportunities in the film sector, international collaboration and creative partnerships. All talks are free and open to the public, with advance registration required.

Alongside the selected film projects and talks by international experts, a new generation of Baltic producers will also take part in the Forum. From 5–9 October, Vilnius will host the second edition of UP!, a training programme for emerging film producers. Launched last year for Lithuanian participants, the initiative has expanded in 2026 to encompass all three Baltic states. Fifteen producers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been selected for the programme and will spend the week exploring the international short film ecosystem and project pitching before introducing themselves to the Baltic Pitching Forum audience on 8 October. The programme is led by producer Marija Razgutė together with Amos Geva, producer, T-Port TalentBridge mentor and co-founder of the T-Port platform.

On Friday, 9 October, the Forum will conclude with a short film screening open to both industry professionals and the general public. The final evening will take place at Muzeoteka, part of the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum, with a programme of contemporary Italian animation, Contemporary Italian Animated Short Cinema, curated by the Italian Short Film Center. The screening will offer audiences a chance to discover this year’s Guest Country not through projects still in development, but through a selection of recent completed films. Entrance is free.

The 14th Baltic Pitching Forum will take place from 6–9 October at the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius. The Forum’s public events are free of charge, with advance registration required – HERE.

The full list of this year’s selected projects – HERE.

Baltic Pitching Forum is organized by the Lithuanian Short Film Agency “Lithuanian Shorts”. The event is partly financed by the Lithuanian Film Centre, Vilnius City Municipality, Audiovisual Works Copyright Association “AVAKA” and Baltisches Haus. Associated partners: Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS, Riga IFF, Latvian Short Film Agency and PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival). Partners – Creative Europe MEDIA Desks in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Italy, Italian Short Film Center, Estonian Film Institute, Embassy of Italy in Lithuania, ShorTO Film Market, European Short Film Co-production Forum Euro Connection, UP Records, Baltic Talent Agency, National Film School KIMO, Latvian Academy of Culture, Baltic Film and Media School, Vilnius Film Office and National Gallery of Art.