The event consists of a closed screening of short films by Baltic directors, after which an international panel of experts provides feedback and recommendations for finishing the films, or suggestions on festival strategy. What remains unchanged is the basic principle: to gather representatives of notable film festivals and talent scouts. The screenings should serve as a springboard for getting the selected films into the festival circuit.
Event is open to the RIGA IFF Industry Pass holders (more info here).
The curators of SHORT RIGA Test Screenings select ten to twelve promising short-form works by directors either residing in, or born in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (rough cut – up to 40 min; finished films – up to 30 min). Various techniques and genres are accepted. The films are evaluated by a commission of five experts that changes yearly so as to guarantee in-depth evaluations from different perspectives.
The 10 – 12 films are split into two screenings held over two days. The panel of experts will have familiarized themselves with the projects in advance, and will give their final feedback and evaluations during the events. Before each film, the filmmakers will explain at what stage their film currently is, and what the main issues and questions that they wish to clarify are. The experts will comment and take questions after each film. Further communication on the projects takes place at the one to one meetings. For additional information, please contact programme representative Lauma Kaudzīte – lauma@rigaiff.lv.
Upon submission you will be asked to use your Eventival Account, a gateway to more than 135 festivals. The account enables you to see all your applications in one place and to exchange all the necessary information with RIGA IFF staff. In case of any queries regarding your account, please contact the RIGA IFF Admissions Service – admissions@rigaiff.lv.
One Test Screenings project will be awarded a prize of post-production services worth 3000 euro, thanks to our partners BBPosthouse. BBPostHouse is a post-production house based in Riga, Latvia. BBPostHouse provides film and digital video media services that include online editing, color grading, digital cinema encoding, sound design, VFX, mastering, film scanning and data archiving.
Their Post-Production Facility consists of DaVinci Resolve Color and Projection Suite, Mastering Suite and Sound Studio and suites are HD, 2K and 4K ready. All elements of post-production for all work including commercials, short, feature films, documentaries, tv-series or music videos and all media including cinema, television, radio and internet are provided.
Their team is made up of experienced professionals and talents who value high quality, effective service and excellent results.
Deadline for applications is August 22, 2021, 23:59 (local time in Latvia, GMT+2). Screenings will take place October 20 – 21, 2021.
Olivier Catherin has been trained as an ethnologist. In April 2008 he created the animated film production company Les Trois Ours and won a César award with the short Kiki of Montparnasse in 2014. In 2017, he joined Pictanovo, in charge of the development of the animated film sector for the Hauts-de-France region. He’s also teaching animation production at the National Audiovisual Institute and Sciences-Po and he’s one of the founders of the Emile Awards ceremony. In 2019 he became the creative producer specializing in international co-productions, producing several short and feature length films with different French production companies and animation consultants, especially working for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival as representative for African continent and expert for animation development.
She works with sales and festivals at a Warsaw-based boutique sales company. Founded by Jan Naszewski, New Europe Film Sales focuses both on shorts and feature films. The catalogue includes a number of festival hits and even Palme d’Or winners.
With Square Eyes, Wouter represents bold, author-driven features and shorts, and collaborates closely with the filmmakers to devise bespoke festival distribution and sales strategies. Over the years the films have premiered at prestigious festivals and have won multiple awards at Cannes, TIFF, Berlin, Locarno and Clermont-Ferrand.
Julie holds a Masters degree in cultural project production, with a master’s thesis about the impact of Internet and numeric revolution on the short film industry. She permanently joins Sauve Qui Peut le Court Métrage, the association behind the Clermont-Ferrand Int’ Short Film Festival, in 2015 after several years working on punctual missions. She is a member of the International competition selection committee, coordinates the Pop-Up & #SHORT program dedicated to web fiction, coordinates the industry events at the Short Film Market, especially Euro Connection and the relation with administrative institutions. She is also a board member of the Short Film Conference.
Since 2017 Marija is heading the film market events and vast film catalogue during Nordisk Panorama. She started with the festival already in 2012 and held various roles in both the festival and market. She has also worked with film production for over 15 years in various roles and holds an MA in Film and Media Production from Lund University and vocational training from Alma Manusutbildning.
He has worked on numerous feature films, documentaries, and short films that have been selected for A-class festivals, such as Karlovy Vary, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Tallinn Black Nights, Moscow International Film Festival and others. He has received the national film awards both as the best editor and documentary director.