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Lithuanian filmmaker and editor Gabrielė Urbonaitė explores the pressures on young women in her feature directorial debut Renovation, which will world premiere in the Proxima Competition lineup of the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The movie stars Žygimante Elena Jakštaitė (European Shooting Star 2021), Šarūnas Zenkevičius (European Shooting Star 2025) and up-and-coming Ukrainian talent Roman Lutskyi (Under the Volcano by Damian Kocur, 2024). The film’s cinematographer Vytautas Katkus will also be in Karlovy Vary, premiering his directorial debut feature The Visitor in the festival’s main competition.

Now, THR can exclusively reveal the first trailer for the movie about a young woman feeling the pressure to be settled and successful by the time she turns 30.

Ilona, a perfectionist 29-year-old, lives in present-day Vilnius, Lithuania. “At this turning point in her life, she begins to question how she truly wants to live. She moves into a seemingly perfect apartment with her boyfriend Matas,...

The upcoming Josh O’Connor film “Rebuilding” will screen as part of the 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival along with multiple world premieres, Kviff organizers announced on Tuesday.

The festival announced 11 films in its Crystal Globe competition section, but added that the section will include a 12th film from Iran. Artistic director Karel Och said in a release that the announcement of this final feature has been postponed until closer to the festival out of consideration for “the safety of its makers.”

“Rebuilding,” which makes its international premiere at the festival, immerses us in the life of a rancher (O’Connor) whose ranch has been destroyed in a wildfire and must now pick up the pieces in his life. It’s written and directed by Max Walker-Silverman, who previously made his feature debut with the delicate drama “A Love Song” in 2022. “Rebuilding” previously premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival...

Tallinn, Estonia — Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event, one of the leading industry events in Northern Europe, closed Nov. 22 with an awards ceremony where the focus country Germany dominated the list of 15 winning projects at various stages of development or post-production, on top of two accolades to promising producers.

For the first time, the public was invited to cast their vote for each category, which gave more chances of a larger number of projects standing out at the market.

Among the most coveted accolades, the €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award from the Baltic Event Co-Production Market was handed out to the German-Bulgarian project “The Worker” helmed by Bulgarian-born Eliza Petkova, whose debut feature “Zhaleika” earned a special mention at the 66th Berlinale.

The drama about Roma Bulgarian Gorgi, pushed into a life of lies and deceit in Berlin to try to make ends meet and maintain his family in a Bulgarian village, was...

Eliza Petkova’s German-Bulgarian co-production The Worker was among the winners at Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the professional platform of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).

The fifth film from Bulgarian director Petkova, The Worker won the €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award in the Baltic Event Co-Production Market. Currently in development with a €2m budget of which €450,000 is already secured, The Worker follows a Roma man who leaves his Bulgarian family for work in Germany, where he constructs a façade of living a luxurious life while he struggles as an undocumented worker.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

It is produced by Nicolas Kronauer,...

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event has selected 17 films in production or post-production for its Works in Progress lab, divided across International, Baltic Event and Just Film sections.

The titles include Jonas Ulrich’s Swiss social drama Wolves. Set in the heart of an underground music scene, a young woman’s relationship with the frontman of a metal band blurs the line between freedom and fanaticism.

Scroll down for the full selection

The film stars newcomer Selma Kopp, alongside Corpus Christi star Bartosz Bielenia. Written and directed by Ulrich, the project won the Zurich Film Foundation Fast Track prize in 2022. It is...

Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the Baltic region’s leading industry confab and sidebar to the Black Nights Film Festival, has unveiled the list of 17 films from 15 countries selected for its three Works in Progress sessions: the International Works in Progress, Baltic Event Works in Progress (from the Baltics and Finland) and Just Film Works in Progress (for kids and youth).

The projects – which are in production or post-production and are looking for sales, extra coin and festival platforms – will be pitched to more than 500 industry delegates from at least 45 countries on Nov. 21-22.

Buyers and programmers who first discovered in Tallinn little gems like Berlin winner “20,000 Species of Bees” from Spain, can look forward to this year’s WiP program. “It is exciting, strong, and so diverse!”, said Marge Liiske, head of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. “From the Baltics, we have slightly fewer projects this year, as many international...