The 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) will host the 25th edition of the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (ITBE) from Friday onward. The market gathers roughly 900 accredited professionals representing 54 nations, including about 100 sales agents, distributors and festival programmers. Over twelve days the programme offers more than one hundred panels, masterclasses, pitch sessions and screenings, all designed to give producers, writers and developers concrete tools for reaching audiences.
Program focus: distribution, AI and the resurgence of gaming
After a financing-centric edition last year, the current agenda returns to the fundamentals of distribution and sales. Organiser Marge Liiske explains that producers will learn how to design audience strategies from the outset, when to involve a sales agent and how to maximise visibility on theatrical and digital platforms. Friday, 20 November is devoted exclusively to these topics, providing a full day of interaction with the people who move films from studio to screen.
Artificial intelligence, a subject that dominated Tallinn discussions for the past five years, receives a lighter touch this time. The market still hosts the final module of the “Mastering AI for European Film Professionals” course, a joint effort of the National Film School of Denmark, Filmforward, ITBE and the Norwegian Film School, funded by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme. The focus remains on practical applications rather than theory.
Gaming re-emerges as a key theme after a brief hiatus caused by funding shortages in European development. The 2016 edition featured hackathons that turned co-production IPs into playable prototypes within 48 hours. This year the sessions compare financing models, narrative structures and audience expectations between games, films and series, encouraging producers to diversify their portfolios.
Co-production market, works in progress and discovery pathways
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market presents 15 titles from ten countries, while the Script Pool showcases five scripts originating from Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Iran, Hungary, Romania, Ireland, Canada, France and Türkiye. Sixteen projects enter the Works in Progress programme, split into Baltic Event, International and Just Film categories, and are screened on 19 November for potential sales agents and festival programmers.
Television receives dedicated attention through the TV Beats Co-Financing Market, which features ten series projects and a third annual TV Beats screening block. The latest season of the German drama Babylon Berlin will premiere internationally on 15 November, closing a loop that began with its world debut at PÖFF in 2017.
Education remains a cornerstone of ITBE. The Discovery Campus hosts 24 emerging film professionals from 17 countries, including ten rising talents selected for the Black Nights Stars showcase. A new Discovery Hub at the Tallink Spa & Conference Hotel serves as a communal base for networking and collaboration.
Regional spotlight, high-profile guests and thematic sessions
Baltic cinema stays front-and-center. With 310 Baltic participants, 81 regional films and 21 projects, the market emphasises the area’s growing international reach. A special “Focus: Basque” segment on 19 November introduces the Basque audiovisual ecosystem, covering funding schemes, tax incentives and emerging production companies.
Renowned figures such as two-time Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton (juror and masterclass speaker), casting director Yngvill Kolset Haga, cinematographer Julio Macat and production designer Inbal Weinberg join the schedule. Sessions like “The New Underground: Film Discovery in the Age of Social Media Restrictions” and “Women, War and Witness: Cinema in Times of Global Crisis” address contemporary challenges confronting creators.
ITBE’s long-term ambition, as outlined by Liiske, includes expanding support for distributors and exhibitors, strengthening documentary participation and unveiling new co-production initiatives in 2027. The event aims to transform momentary visibility into sustained growth for small-market producers, ensuring that projects such as “Flow” or “Toxic” are not isolated successes but part of a continuous pipeline.
