The event is organised by the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Offices in Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro and Serbia, together with Arts Council Malta and MEDIA desk Suisse. Its partners are the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Film Centre of Montenegro, the Cyprus Organisation for European Programmes and Cultural Relations, and Swiss Films.
This sixth edition marks a new chapter for the initiative. For the first time, Series Rough Pitch - The Balkan Way opens its doors beyond the region, welcoming Malta and Switzerland through Arts Council Malta, MEDIA desk Suisse and Swiss Films. Competition was exceptionally strong: fewer than one in three of the 32 applications from eight eligible countries made it to the final selection, and nine projects were selected. Their creative ambition, diversity of genres and courage in storytelling once again confirm the strength of the voices coming from this part of Europe.
As noted by Martina Petrović, Head of the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk Croatia and initiator of the event:
“When we started The Balkan Way, we had a simple wish: to give storytellers from our region a chance to be heard. This year, as Malta and Switzerland joined us, I realised that this initiative has no borders, because good stories always find each other. Every year I’m moved all over again by the courage with which creators trust us with their stories. This year they bring us forgotten gods, family secrets, friendships that save us and the questions we’re all still trying to answer. For me, The Balkan Way has never been just a pitch. It’s a small community of people who believe that stories can bring together what so often keeps us apart.”
Selected projects:
Bourgeois Blues (Croatia): Josipa Burić and Lorenzo Raušević, creators and writers
The Hungarian Look (Hungary): Nóra Juhász and Zsolt Dér, creators
Markheim (Malta): Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregor, creator and writer
Seventyn (Croatia): Ivor Martinić, creator; Andrea Slaviček, creator and director; produced by T25
Memory (Switzerland): Fanny Nussbaumer, creator; Azra Djurdjevic, producer
Not Everything Is About Money (Montenegro): Božo Nikčević, creator and author of the novel of the same title
Where the Old Gods Sleep (Croatia): Mateja Božičević, creator and writer
Outsider (Greece): Dimitris Tzetzas (director) and Alex Moran (writer), creators
Rust (Serbia): Tanasije Ćakić, creator and writer; Olivera Guconić and Nikola Kljajić, co-writers
Before stepping into the public pitch, participants take part in an intensive online preparation workshop (19–24 October) led by tutors Valeria Richter (screenwriter) and Helene Granqvist (producer).
International jury:
Wade Channel - Executive Director (CEO), Damn Fool Productions
Síle Culley - Audience Design Consultant
Dominika Erhart Braná - Industry Programme Coordinator, Serial Killer Festival (Brno)
Bastien Gave - Deputy Forum Director, Series Mania Forum
Hristo Hadjitanev - Programme Director of Media Play Sofia and Content Development Director at Nova Broadcasting Group (NBG)
Roosa Toivonen - Co-Head, TV Beats Forum / Tallinn Black Nights
Awards:
Best Pitch Award of 6,000 EUR
WIFT Sweden Peace Prize of 3,000 EUR (sponsored by Damn Fool Productions)
Audience Design Award by Síle Culley
Media Play Festival Award - participation at Media Play 2027, Sofia
Industry accreditations for Serial Killer 2027 (Brno), Series Mania Forum 2027 (Lille) and TV Beats Forum 2027 (Tallinn)
Mentors’ Special Mention
The pitching session will be livestreamed on 30 October 2026 at 12:00 CET on the Facebook pages of the Creative Europe Desks – MEDIA Offices and the YouTube channel of Creative Europe Desk – MEDIA Office Croatia.
