TALLINN: Estonian startup IRIS Casting Ecosystem has received a 150,000 EUR grant from Enterprise Estonia to develop its automated a digital casting platform that will bring directors, producers, casting directors, actors, and agents under one roof.
Founder Ronja Kissa, who has worked in casting for nearly 20 years, said this year's goals are attracting new investors and reaching first paying customers.
The startup was pitched at the Cannes Next programme during the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
IRIS is part of Tehnopol's film and multimedia accelerator, itself part of the IDA Hub innovation center founded by IVEK, IVIA, and Tehnopol.
The Film New Europe (FNE) Association is the networking platform for film professionals in the CEE/SEE/Baltics region. The webportal and FNE newswire was chosen as the MAIN TOOL to achieve the network’s objectives of the sharing of know how, visibility of regional cultural diversity and finally the VOICE of the region.
FNE’s objectives include VISIBILITY for the region and AUDIENCES for films by providing a special focus on the region.