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Torino ScriptLab 2026 comes to Tartu

In June 2026, Tartu will host the second residential module of the international screenwriting development programme ScriptLab 2026, organised by TorinoFilmLab. The programme is brought to Estonia in partnership with Tartu Film Fund and the Estonian Film Institute.

ScriptLab is one of Europe’s leading development programmes for feature film scripts in the early stages of development. Each year, 600–700 applications are submitted worldwide, out of which only 16 projects are selected.

The programme runs from April to November 2026 and includes three week-long residential workshops (April, June, November) and two online modules (September, October). The second module will take place in Tartu on 17–24 June 2026.

Who can apply?
ScriptLab is open to both emerging and established writer-directors, or writer/director teams, from all over the world. Eligible projects must be feature films at an early stage of development.

Applications
Applications must be submitted via the TorinoFilmLab website by 3 November 2025 at 17:00 EET.

More info on Script Lab 2026 here.

“Sannapäiv” Wins Best Cinematography Award in Budapest

September began on an inspiring note for the short film Sannapäiv, supported by the Tartu Film Fund – the work by Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash received the Best Cinematography Award at the BUSHO International Short Film Festival in Budapest.

The recognition goes to cinematographer Ants Tammik and his team. “There are projects where I approach my work more technically, and others where I rely primarily on intuition. Collaboration with Anna and Tushar is based above all on intuition and gut feeling. This award once again confirms that instinct must be trusted and experimentation embraced. When filming with the camera gives you goosebumps, that’s a sign of the right thing – the very element that provides the strength to keep going in this quite challenging field,” Tammik recalled about the creative process.

Congratulations to the entire Sannapäiv team!

The film premiered in 2024. It is produced by Stellar Film with co-producer Allfilm.

Location Session Tartu 2025 brought together international experts

On 7–8 August, Tartu hosted the international seminar Location Session Tartu for the second time, which this year also marked the 10th anniversary of the Tartu Film Fund.
The two-day event brought renowned film location experts and practitioners from Estonia, Finland, Germany, the USA, Norway, and Lithuania to South Estonia, offering participants inspiring discussions, practical insights, and valuable new contacts.

The seminar day opened with world-class location scouts Lori Balton (USA) and Markus Bensch (GER), who shared career experiences and practical advice. In the following panel on film friendliness, participants discussed how to build trust-based cooperation with local communities when securing filming locations and how to maintain long-term relationships.

The Scout & Production Designer Cooperation panel explored the role of film locations from the perspective of the production designer, director, and scout. It was unanimously stressed that successful collaboration should begin in the earliest stages of production.

The presentations block showcased innovative technological solutions that help location scouts and film funds manage ever-expanding location databases and make planning faster and more efficient.

In the closing panel Scouting & Production 2030, there was a passionate discussion about the potential future of the scout’s work and role amid rapid technological development, as well as how both content production processes and audience consumption habits are changing.

The event confirmed that Tartu and South Estonia have the potential to be an attractive and distinctive destination in the international film industry, and highlighted the importance of bringing together professionals in the field. The recent Location Session will not be the last—see you at the next events!

Estonia in Focus at the Transilvania Film Festival

From June 13 to 22, the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where Estonia was this year’s focus country. Among the invited guests was Signe Somelar-Erikson, coordinator of the Tartu Film Fund.

The festival’s film program featured four films supported by the Tartu Film Fund: Black Hole (dir. Moonika Siimets), Aurora (dir. Rain Tolk, Andres Maimik), Life and Love (dir. Helen Takkin), and the short film Sannapäiv (dir. Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash).

TIFF is the largest and most influential film festival in Romania. Its location, Cluj-Napoca, shares many values with Tartu – both are strong university towns and centers of vibrant cultural life and a growing creative sector.

“TIFF offered an excellent opportunity to meet international experts. For example, I met Maciej Żemojcin, a Polish expert in virtual production and AI-driven filmmaking. His most recent major project involved creating a one-to-one digital model of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, allowing filmmakers to use an authentic environment without having to film on location. The digitalization and accessibility of historical or sensitive sites for filmmakers is also an interesting prospect in the context of Southern Estonia’s cultural and natural heritage. I also met Paul Rieth, one of Germany’s leading audience development experts, whose knowledge in target group–based approaches and audience engagement could enhance our capacity to help local filmmakers find their viewers. We definitely plan to bring this expertise to Tartu in the future through professional events organized by the Film Fund.”

Tartu Film Fund at the Cannes Film Festival 2025

Tartu Film Fund took part in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, attending key meetings and discussions focused on international collaboration, sustainable production, and the role of regional film industries in the broader European context. As the world’s largest gathering of film professionals, the Cannes Film Festival is an important platform for smaller film regions to increase visibility and build strategic partnerships.

Tartu Film Fund representative Signe Somelar-Erikson participated in four significant industry events:

Nordic Film Commissions Sustainability Update

In December 2023, the Nordic Sustainability Pledge was launched at FOCUS London – a joint initiative between 19 Nordic film commissions to advance sustainability in film production. In Cannes, Daniel Chilla (Film Stockholm) provided an update on progress and collaborations to date, followed by a discussion with Annee Helvig Frost (SF Studios) about turning pledges into concrete actions. The Baltic countries, including Tartu Film Fund, see themselves as part of this emerging network.

EUFCN panel “Capitalizing on Collaboration”

This panel focused on how partnerships between producers and film commissions can bring meaningful benefits to local communities, stimulate economic activity, and support a stronger European screen sector. Case studies included Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme”, HBO’s “The Regime”, and Netflix’s “Billionaire Island”.
Two of the speakers, Markus Bensch and Solveig Sigmond Ræstad, will also take part in Location Session Tartu 2025.

Nordic-Baltic Production Networking Event

A networking event for producers from the Baltic and Nordic countries held in the Baltic pavilions at the Marché du Film. The agenda included country-specific case studies and practical collaboration examples.

Meeting with Torino Film Lab

Discussions focused on bringing one of the modules of the Torino Script Lab to Tartu. A concrete plan is now in place to host this internationally acclaimed script development programme in Tartu in 2027, in partnership with TorinoFilmLab.

Participation in international events like Cannes is vital for regional film funds like Tartu’s. It helps develop new connections, attract international partners, and stay informed on key industry trends. Cannes also supports Tartu Film Fund’s strategic goals and enhances South Estonia’s visibility in the global film industry.

📸 View the photo gallery: Facebook link
Photo credit: Erlend Štaub

Moonika Siimets Wins Best Director Award at goEast Film Festival

On April 29, the goEast Film Festival, dedicated to the cinema of Central and Eastern Europe, concluded in Wiesbaden, Germany. From there, Estonia brought home a remarkable victory: Moonika Siimets won the Best Director Award for her feature film “The Black Hole”.

The sci-fi comedy The Black Hole tells a quirky yet poignant story about aliens arriving in a Soviet-era housing district and beginning to alter the dreams of its residents. The film was partially shot in Annelinn, a residential area in Tartu, making this international recognition especially meaningful for the city of Tartu and the Tartu Film Fund.

According to the jury, Siimets explores connections between Eastern European reality and outer space, blending genres and storytelling techniques while creating memorable characters. “The director turns dark topics into humorous narratives through vivid visual aesthetics,” said jury president Jasmila Žbanić, acclaimed Bosnian director of Quo Vadis, Aida?

“This award is a hugely important recognition for our team. I’m especially glad that the jury and audience didn’t just focus on the aliens and special effects but were moved by the serious themes that matter to me – aging, domestic violence, homophobia, loneliness. They understood our humor and appreciated the creative risk we took in telling such a genre-blending story,” commented Moonika Siimets.

One of the film’s main characters – the alien KIP (Kri-in-Poulsen from the Milky Way) – even made a public appearance at the sTARTUp Day festival in Tartu this January, further highlighting the film’s local relevance.

Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K30TeQjp4Ks&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

Tartu Film Fund supports five regionally connected films

In the 2025 spring application round, Tartu Film Fund has decided to support five audiovisual projects — four feature films and one documentary. The films are largely set in Tartu and Southern Estonia, and many of the creators and filming locations are directly tied to the region. The combined investment into the local economy exceeds €600,000.

Supported Projects

1. “Seatapp” (O’Slaughter)

Genre: Feature film
Producer: Downtown Pictures
Director: Ove Musting
Synopsis: A darkly humorous story about a young veterinary inspector who is sent to his home village before Christmas to investigate a possible outbreak of swine fever. Soon, the entire village is drawn into a chaotic situation involving pig slaughter and strained family relations.
Regional spend: approx. €120,000
Regional link: Filming took place entirely in Põlva and Võru Counties. The director is from the region. Local services were used for accommodation, livestock handling, and transportation. Catering was provided by a Tartu-based company. Several actors from the Vanemuine Theatre participated.
Support granted: €40,000

2. “Musta pori näkku” (Dirt in Your Face)

Genre: Feature film
Producer: Taska Film
Director: Jaak Kilmi
Synopsis: A coming-of-age rock story set in 1987 Tartu. A group of rebellious teens embarks on a road trip from Tartu to a rock festival in Võru, searching for fame and identity.
Regional spend: €145,458
Regional link: Five filming days are planned in Tartu and Southern Estonia, including locations at the University of Tartu main building and Püssirohukelder. Local actors, extras, and production crew will be involved.
Support granted: €30,000

3. “Morten”

Genre: Feature film
Producer: Kopli Kinokompanii
Director: Ivan Pavljutškov
Synopsis: A visually poetic youth drama about a lonely boy, his inner world, and his first experience with friendship and emotional choice between two very different girls.
Regional spend: €185,400
Regional link: Four shooting days are planned in Tartu, including scenes at an industrial site and a villa. The scriptwriter, Reeli Reinaus, is a well-known author from Tartu. Several regional filmmakers are involved.
Support granted: €25,000

4. “Mind ei ole sinust eraldi” (No Me Without You)

Genre: Feature film
Producer: Filmivabrik
Director: Janno Jürgens
Synopsis: A story of two sisters brought together by a tragic event, exposing buried tensions and the consequences of silence. A profound psychological drama about guilt and forgiveness.
Regional spend: €150,730
Regional link: Four filming days are planned in Southern Estonia. The director and lead actor (Andres Mähar) are from Tartu. The production includes a regional cinematographer, gaffer, makeup artists, extras, technical rentals, accommodation, and catering.
Support granted: €30,000

5. “Aveliina Helm. Rebellion Against Extinction”

Genre: Documentary
Producer: Black Plastic Media Productions
Director: Maria Uppin
Synopsis: A portrait of Tartu University ecologist Aveliina Helm, a passionate advocate for biodiversity and nature restoration. The film follows her from Southern Estonian meadows to international diplomatic arenas, highlighting the role of science in nature conservation.
Regional spend: €5,800
Regional link: Seven filming days in locations such as Tartu city, Alam-Pedja nature reserve, Vastseliina, and local meadows. The protagonist lives and works in Southern Estonia and is affiliated with the University of Tartu.
Support granted: €2,000

O’Slaughter heads to Cannes

The Tartu Film Fund–supported feature project O’Slaughter (Estonian title: Seatapp, directed by Ove Musting, produced by Jaan Laugamõts) has been selected to participate in the Tallinn Black Nights Goes to Cannes showcase at the Marché du Film during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Curated by the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in collaboration with the Marché du Film, the showcase will feature five projects from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on stage at the TAG Producers’ Network event on May 16. All selected films are currently in post-production and actively seeking co-financing, sales representation, and festival partnerships.

O’Slaughter is a darkly humorous story set in Southern Estonia’s distinctive landscape. Most of the film was shot in the Tartu Film Fund region.

The Cannes Marché du Film is one of the world’s leading film industry markets, connecting projects with global buyers, festival programmers, and co-production partners.

The Tartu Film Fund is proud to support a project that represents both regional filmmaking and international potential, and we look forward to O’Slaughter reaching wider audiences in the near future.

International success for Tartu-funded shorts

Estonian auteur short films “Sauna Day” and “The Weight of Light”, supported by the Tartu Film Fund, received a total of four awards at two prestigious international film festivals in early April.

The short fiction film “Sauna Day”, directed by Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash, won Best Short Film at the 29th 2ANNAS International Film Festival in Riga. According to the jury, the film “masterfully captures the delicate balance between masculinity and intimacy, tradition and transformation,” offering “a raw and deeply honest cinematic experience.”

The second film by the same creative duo, “The Weight of Light”, won three awards at the FIFOI festival on Réunion Island: the Best Short Film Award, the Youth Jury Award, and the Domini Special Award for a forward-looking perspective on environmental, social, or cultural issues. The film was described as “a quiet yet powerful cry for those whose stories remain unseen.”

Both films have received recognition at numerous festivals and are available to watch on Telia TV and Elisa Huub. The films were produced by Stellar Film and partners and supported by the Estonian Film Institute, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Tartu Film Fund, and several international funding bodies.

https://tartufilmfund.ee/en/movie/sauna-day

https://tartufilmfund.ee/en/movie/the-weight-of-light/

The nominees for the Estonian Film and Television Awards 2025

On March 17, the nominees for the Estonian Film and Television Awards 2025 were revealed. The grand EFTA gala will take place on April 11, where the best Estonian filmmakers and television creators will be honored. A total of 31 awards will be presented—16 in film categories and 15 in television categories.

We are pleased to announce that films co-financed by Tartu Film Fund are represented in 14 categories.

A total of five films supported by Tartu Film Fund have been nominated:

Biwa järve 8 nägu / 8 Views of Lake Biwa – 12 categories
Elu ja Armastus – 7 categories
Vari – 4 categories
Varaküps – 2 categories
Pimeala – 1 category

For more details on the nominees and categories, visit: Facebook