The 30th edition marked three decades since Baltic Sea Docs was established in 1997 on the Danish island of Bornholm. The forum has been based in Riga since 2005 and has been organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia since 2006. Over three decades, Baltic Sea Docs has developed into an important meeting point for documentary filmmakers seeking international co-production, financing, professional feedback and opportunities for their films to reach audiences beyond their home countries.

Following the pitching sessions and one-to-one meetings on 10-11 September, a range of partner awards were presented to selected projects, offering practical support at different stages of a film’s development, production and international circulation.

Award recipients at Baltic Sea Docs 2026:

• ARTE European Talent Development Award(a €10,000 development grant in exchange for a first-look deal) – Two of Us, a project by director Jūratė Samulionytė, producers Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, Danielė Kunčinaitė (Just a moment, Lithuania)
• Baltic Sea Docs Award(a consultancy session with an industry expert chosen according to the project’s needs) – The Shepherd’s Son, a project by director Nurlan Hasanli, producer Turkan Huseyn (Ultra Production, Azerbaijan)
• BBposthouse Award(€3,000 in post-production services) – Going Underground, a project by director Armands Začs, producers Dārta Vijgrieze, Gints Grūbe (Mistrus Media, Latvia), co-production companies Allfilm (Estonia), Making Movies (Finland)
• East Doc Platform Award(accreditation and access to one-on-one meetings at the next edition of East Doc Platform) – 35 Letters, a project by director Zuzanna Solakiewicz, producer Maria Krauss (Plesnar & Krauss Films, Poland)
• IDFA and Baltic Sea Docs Collaboration Award for Baltic filmmakers(accreditation and guidance for a director and producer at the next edition of IDFA) – Borderline, a project by directors Ville Seppänen, Johan Huimerind, producer Johan Huimerind, production company Dokfilm (Estonia, Finland)
• Movies That Matter Award(accreditation and two nights’ accommodation at the festival) – Two of Us, a project by director Jūratė Samulionytė, producers Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė, Danielė Kunčinaitė (Just a moment, Lithuania)
• Sheffield DocFest Award(accreditation for a director and producer at the next edition of Sheffield DocFest) – Lunatics, a project by director Saila Kivelä, producer Ida Karoskoski (Wacky Tie Films, Finland)
• TV3 Group Award(publicity support for a Latvian project through television and online visibility) – I See No Death by director Yevhen Titarenko, producers Natalia Khazan (Braha Production Company, Ukraine), Guntis Trekteris (Ego Media, Latvia)

The 2026 pitching selection comprised 23 new documentary projects, representing filmmakers and producers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine. Three additional projects were presented in the “Coming Soon” section: Beautiful Stupid Thing (Estonia, Colombia), I See No Death (Ukraine, Latvia) and Wise Guys (Latvia). The section gives projects that have already passed through the forum an opportunity to return to the Baltic Sea Docs industry community at a later stage of production, with the focus shifting towards completing the films and building international festival, distribution and sales opportunities.

The 2026 decision-makers reflected the breadth and international reach of the contemporary documentary industry, bringing together representatives of public broadcasters and media organisations including MDR, SVT, Suspilne Ukraine, Yle, NHK, TG4, ERR, LTV, TV3, SWR and DR Sales. The panel also included representatives of international sales and distribution companies such as Filmdelights, 3Box Media, CAT & Docs, Rise and Shine, Taskovski, Lightdox, Jambika Docs and Indie Film, as well as leading festivals and industry platforms including goEast, PÖFF, Movies That Matter, Sundance, Sheffield DocFest and Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. The group was further complemented by organisations supporting documentary production, development and impact, including the Scottish Documentary Institute, Impact Days at FIFDH Geneva, Docs Up Fund and the Estonian and Lithuanian Film Centres.

 

Baltic Sea Docs 30

The 30th anniversary was marked by a special programme looking both back at the history of Baltic Sea Docs and towards the future of documentary filmmaking. On 9 September, the discussion “Documentary Film Forum Baltic Sea Docs 30 & CE MEDIA 35”, moderated by Cecilia Lidin (Denmark), took place at the National Film School of the Latvian Academy of Culture and brought together filmmakers and industry professionals who have played an important role in the forum and the region’s documentary sector. The first discussion looked back at 30 years of Baltic Sea Docs with Tue Steen Müller (Denmark), Uldis Cekulis (Latvia), Marianna Kaat (Estonia), Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė (Lithuania) and Darya Bassel (Ukraine). The second discussion looked towards the future of documentary film over the next 30 years, with Sudeep Sharma (USA), Flore Cosquer (Scotland) and Zane Krūmiņa (Latvia).

The anniversary programme continued on 10 September with an artists’ talk featuring Ukrainian director Roman Bondarchuk and screenwriter and producer Darya Averchenko. The conversation addressed the relationship between film and reality, the documentation of the Kherson region and the making of Bondarchuk’s Ukrainian Sheriffs (2015).

The connection between Ukrainian Sheriffs and the present-day reality of Ukraine was further explored through the exhibition “Ukrainian Sheriffs: Holding On to Home – What remains when everything changes”, which opened on 11 September at Art Station “Dubulti” in Jūrmala. Running until 2 October, the exhibition returns to Stara Zburivka in the Kherson region and to the people first introduced to international audiences through the 2015 documentary.

The anniversary events culminated in Jūrmala on 12 September with a screening of Ukrainian Sheriffs (2015), followed by a conversation with the filmmakers. The activities dedicated to Ukrainian Sheriffs were organised by the Avantis association in cooperation with Baltic Sea Docs.

The Baltic Sea Docs film programme ran from 8 to 13 September, bringing 12 documentaries to audiences in Riga and regional Latvia. The programme opened with Yuliia Hontaruk’s To Die to Live, an intense twelve-year portrait of three Ukrainian men whose lives have been shaped by Russia’s war against Ukraine. The selection also included Amazomania, The Beauty of Errors, Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, Where Everything Disappears, Little Sinner, Techplomacy, Becoming Roosi, My Family and Other Clowns, Under the Red Light, The Queen and the Smokehouse and Ukrainian Sheriffs, addressing themes including war, migration, family, identity, freedom of expression, technology, memory and community.

Part of the public programme was also available online across Latvia via the National Film Centre’s filmas.lv platform, extending the festival experience beyond the cinema venues.

Baltic Sea Docs is organised by the National Film Centre of Latvia with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the Creative Europe MEDIA programme. More information about the 30th edition, including the selected projects, industry programme and public screenings, is available on the Baltic Sea Docs website.