The 28th edition of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (Baltic Sea Docs) has announced its winners. This year's forum featured pitching sessions and industry gatherings held in Riga, Latvia, along with film screenings that were spread across various towns in the country. Projects from Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Romania, Germany and Kazakhstan were awarded during the documentary pitching forum, which was held in Riga 1 – 8 September 2024.

The forum featured 26 documentary projects from the wider Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, providing an important platform for creative documentary filmmakers to present their work to key industry professionals.

Award recipients at Baltic Sea Docs 2024:

Baltic Sea Docs Consultancy Award: “Acting Classes” (dir., prod. Sasha Shegai, prod. Yevgeniya Moreva, CatNip, Kazakhstan)
– A consultancy session with an industry expert in a field relevant to the project’s development.

BBposthouse Post-Production Award: “Sacred Songs” (dir. Nona Giunashvili, prod., co-author Mariam Bitsadze, 17/07 Productions, Georgia)
– Post-production services valued at 3,000 EUR.

East Doc Platform Award: “Making Friends with the Idea of a Father” (dir. Nikolay Stefanov, prod. Ralitsa Golemanova, Smarty Pants Shooter Ltd., Bulgaria)
– Accreditation and access to one-on-one meetings at the next edition of the East Doc Platform in Prague.

IDFA and Baltic Sea Docs Collaboration Award for Baltic Filmmakers: “Emptiness” (dir. Viesturs Kairišs, prod. Elīna Gediņa-Ducena, Gints Grūbe, Mistrus Media, Latvia, co-production company Dash Film, Romania)
– Accreditation and guidance for the director and producer at the next edition of IDFA in Amsterdam.

Movies That Matter Award: “Leave Easy Come Back Safe” (dir. Sasha Kulak, co-director Masha Maroz, prod. Julia Shaginurova, Einbahnstraße Productions, Germany)
– Accreditation and access to industry events at Movies That Matter.

Sheffield DocFest Award: “Double Self Portrait” (dir. Aistė Stonytė, prod. Giedre Žickytė, Migla Butkutė, Moonmakers, Lithuania, co-proucer Uldis Cekulis, VFS Films, Latvia)
– Accreditation and access to Sheffield DocFest industry events.

In addition to the pitching sessions, the forum featured a range of seminars and workshops for participants, including a session on audience reach strategies led by marketing strategist Paul Rieth (Germany), and a seminar with Sundance Film Institute’s senior programmer Basil Tsiokos.