To get a sense of the state of cinema in the Baltic countries today, you could look instead to Park City, Utah, where two of the region’s filmmakers — Estonia’s Anna Hints and Lithuania’s Marija Kavtaradze — took home directing prizes at last year’s Sundance Film Festival: Hints for her debut documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Kavtaradze for her sophomore feature “Slow.” Those wins felt somehow emblematic for the tiny Baltic nations, which — with a combined population of roughly six million — have nevertheless shown a knack for punching above their weight.
Last year, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia shared the stage at the European Film Market as joint Countries in Focus, a spotlight that underscored a period of steady — even surprising — growth. Despite the downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, the lingering fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine and the growing economic uncertainty worldwide, production across the region has been at or near record highs in recent years.
That trend doesn’t seem to be slowing. After a record-breaking 2022 for the Lithuanian industry, Kestutis Drazdauskas, chairman of the board of the Independent Producers Assn. of Lithuania, says last year was “even better.” “There were so many films shooting [in the fall] that we were running out of crew,” he says. “We were actually bringing in people from outside the country.”
Bolstered by a 30% cash rebate, Lithuania has lured a steady stream of foreign productions including HBO’s Emmy-winning “Chernobyl” and Netflix’s supernatural drama “Stranger Things.” That success has trickled down to domestic production, which is surging: Last year, the industry saw 30% growth based on the amount disbursed by the incentive scheme, according to Drazdauskas, with much of that attributed to Lithuanian films and series.
The local TV biz is reaching new heights, with the crime drama series “A Wolf’s Palate” — a €4 million ($4.3 million) co-production between Kino Kultas (Lithuania) and Son of a Pitch (Finland) — the industry’s biggest-budget show to date. “Lithuanian [broadcasters] and streaming platforms are more and more interested in doing bigger TV series, more interesting TV series, investing more money in it,” says Dansu Films’ Gabija Siurbytė, who took part in last year’s Berlinale Series Market Selects with the high-end drama “Troll Farm.” At content markets and international events, she adds, “Lithuania is on the map.”
Latvia’s growing television industry has earned itself a place in the this year’s Series Market Selects lineup with “Soviet Jeans,” a 1970s-set comedy drama series about an underground blue jeans factory in a Latvian psychiatric hospital. Produced by Riga-based Tasse Film and repped globally by Beta Film, the show is one of nine projects backed by a European Union COVID relief fund that the Latvian government has used to bolster film and television production.
Along with a cash rebate that can reach up to 50%, the Baltic nation ponied up more than €13 million ($14.1 million) to support local projects in 2023 — a nearly €3 million ($3.3 million) increase from the previous year. Local titles set to bow at this year’s Berlin Film Festival include “Maria’s Silence” (pictured, top), a historical drama from veteran Latvian director Davis Simanis that will bow in the festival’s Forum sidebar.
“Compared to other European countries, I feel that we are still in a very good place. There haven’t been any budget cuts on our side in [government] funding,” says Alise Gelze, of Riga-based production company White Picture, who’s currently in post-production with “Blue Blood,” Juris Kursietis’ follow-up to his 2019 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player “Oleg.”
That film — a co-production between Latvia, Estonia and Greece — points to some of the challenges that nevertheless face producers in the Baltic region. “It was so ambitious, and we started to finance it when COVID hit. When we set the project, we were completely in a different world,” says Gelze. Across Europe, she notes, financing has become harder to access for the sorts of co-productions that are the lifeblood of the Baltic industries. “Everyone is trying to find a way to make it cheaper, make it more rational production-wise.”
“Looking at the global perspective, the current state of the film industry is closely tied to the overall economic health, and unfortunately, it’s not thriving in Europe,” says Estonian Film Institute director Edith Sepp. “Despite these challenges, the film industry displays resilience. In Estonia, it stands out as one of the few sectors receiving extra government support.”
Last year, the institute’s budget received a welcome bump, garnering more than €2 million ($2.2 million) in additional funding to support the local screen industries. The funds available for the Baltic nation’s 30% cash rebate also increased to €6 million ($6.5 million) — a 50% increase from the previous year.
Production continues to surge at or near pre-pandemic heights, but for a young country where memories of Soviet rule are still fresh, the war in Ukraine and Moscow’s bellicose threats of a widening conflict only add to broader unease.
“I can’t say I’m so concerned about the industry. I’m more concerned about the world,” says Ivo Felt of leading Estonian outfit Allfilm, which provided production services on Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.”
Felt and others in the region recognize that with a combined footprint roughly the size of Oklahoma, the three Baltic states can be easily overlooked in the midst of wider geopolitical unrest. “I’m just hoping that we can make our voices audible,” he adds. “And filmmaking is one way to do this.”
